


Unintended

by Ameliorably



Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Episode, Complicated Relationships, Drama, F/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2020-02-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 13:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 21,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19273894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ameliorably/pseuds/Ameliorably
Summary: Jenny comes back from their assignment in Europe with more than she bargained for, which leads her back to re-confront her relationship with Gibbs. Pre-series/Pilot and Season 1 AU





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> AN: Hello :) This is an AU, and for the purposes of the story I’ve moved things around a little.
> 
> 1991 Gibbs joins NIS  
> 1994 Jenny joins NCIS as an analyst (counter terrorism/counter intelligence)  
> 1995 Jenny’s father dies  
> 1996 Jenny joins Gibbs’s team in the MCRT in order to fast track her career (to better go after la Grenouille and investigate her father’s death)  
> 1999 (mid to late) Gibbs and Jenny work black ops in Europe  
> 2000 Gibbs returns stateside, Jenny leaves him a Dear John, staying on in Europe until she’s supposed to transfer to the Middle East  
> 2000 Gibbs starts rebuilding his team and recruits DiNozzo
> 
> According to this timeline, Rebecca was the first wife, Diane the second, and Stephanie never happened (because Jenny and this story does) and Gibbs doesn’t live with her in Moscow.
> 
>  
> 
> The rating is Teen for now, but we'll see how we go.

It was not a good day. Hell, if this was how it was going to be, it was not going to be a good year, or even a good life. 

 

Jenny was sitting in strange apartment in Paris of all places, trying to figure out just how she was going to get out of this one. NCIS had given her a week off and the keys to some accommodation for a week before she started her new role in the Middle East.

 

She was livid with a side of prickly numbness, a nasty sensation that trickled from her scalp down the back of her neck that felt like nothing and everything at the same time.

 

She was in trouble. If there was a time in her life when it was least convenient for her to get pregnant, it was now. 

It was too bad then that she had just spent half a year in Europe sleeping with her partner as they conducted covert ops, the two things so completely unrelated and yet very much entwined. 

 

They had been reasonably careful, though reasonably apparently wasn’t careful enough, and the statistics of doing something _a lot_ meant they were not on her side. 

 

Her side, their side, a side, the side.

 

Hot, angry tears streamed down her face and she brushed them away angrily. They were stupid. This this entire situation was _so stupid,_ and God knew why she was still sitting here thinking about it when she could easily just terminate and move on without ever uttering a word about it to anyone, but something was stopping her:

 

Gibbs. 

 

Even now he was important. Even though he wasn’t here, even though he had no idea this was happening, even though she _left_ him, she could still see his penetratingly blue stare.

 

The bastard had scoffed at her with a John Wayne style ‘that’ll be the day’ when she’d told him she loved him and so there had been no reason to stay (and she certainly hadn’t done it again).

 

She stood up abruptly, moving violently towards the apartment’s tiny kitchen, her movements all purposeful and a little jagged around the edges. _Where the hell was her cell phone?_

 

She had left him swiftly and after careful calculation leaving minimal mess for her, or so she had thought, but it did not stop her heart still aching or longing to go back.

Something about carrying a little part of him with her was appealing, which both irked and disturbed her. 

Who was she, and what had she done with who she had convinced herself she was, and just how did one go about crawling back in a situation like this anyway?

 

_“Hey, by the way, I know I left without saying goodbye, yeah, that’s because I didn’t really want to put my career first but did it anyway, well, I’m back because we need to have ‘the talk’.”_

 

Her eyes scanned the kitchen counter, still not locating the offending phone.

 

She had left her coat and a note and disappeared into the night so she wouldn’t have to face him and those damn blue eyes. All things considered she had thought she had got out of that one quite well...until a few days later.

She had been ‘late’ before. Hell, with the heady cocktail of contraceptive pills and high stress situations, it was almost a given, but it had not occurred to her until a few more days later that this “late” felt different somehow, fuller if possible, whatever that meant.

So, she’d taken a test, and mumbled a string of expletives that had worked all the way up to a snarled “fuck” as it had given her the answer she had been so afraid of:

 

Positive. 

 

There was nothing positive about this.

 

She refused believe it. She refused to accept her place on the fast track was over, she refused to believe anything had to change, but at the same time, her already weakened resolve to run headlong into her career had suffered a serious blow.

 

She sighed loudly with an irritation reserved only for herself. This was far too human, way too pedestrian. All this desperately trying to be as cold as she needed to be to get the job done, and now _this._

 

If the universe was trying to tell her something, she was not a fan.

 

She stalked back to the living area and threw aside a newspaper and some magazines, uncovering her phone on the coffee table where it had been the entire time and woke it up, jabbing a button. She had a Director to call and a flight to book.

 

She could probably just call Gibbs, he had probably gone back to using the same number as he had had before Europe, the man hated change, but she was going to need some serious in person diplomacy skills for this one. 

 

* * *

  
  


To say she felt worse for wear when she arrived at the Navy Yard was an understatement. Her flight had been long, uneventful, teary, and blandly awful. The girly tape in her Walkman he had teased her about on the flight over had made her cry on the way home. Honestly, who’s bright idea had it been to bring this album anyway?

Hers apparently.

She did not want to talk about love, her heart would probably go on, she was going to have to tell him at some point, and she definitely hated and loved him, and it didn’t help one bit.

She was just grateful she hadn’t started feeling sick yet, if that was something that was going to happen, but she was so damn tired. There was a bone deep weariness in her that she usually had to try a lot harder to achieve.

 

Jenny brushed her no doubt unkempt looking bangs to the side, gear still on her back. She’d kill for a shower right about now. The grime of long haul flights clung to her like a film.

 

She snorted softly, causing a nearby agent to look at her. Maybe sleeping with Gibbs counted as needing decontamination.

 

She flashed her badge at security, as they waved her through, and the normality of it all clanged in dissonance with how alien she felt. The alien lands they had been in were enough on their own, but this new...development... only heightened it. 

 

Her senses were on high alert as she walked into the bullpen, her eyes scanning for a particular greying head, which she didn’t find.

Her eyes instead fell on Pacci, and she flashed him a tight smile. He smiled a friendly but confused one in return because she wasn’t supposed to be anywhere near here.

Her eyes then fell on her old desk, where a tall, young, brown haired man she didn’t recognise was now lounging, his feet up on the desk and his thoughts clearly somewhere else.

 

She paused before approached silently, enjoying the element of surprise. “You don’t want to let Gibbs catch you doing that,” she said silkily once she was close enough to shock.

 

The man all but fell off his chair in surprise, recovering himself quickly. “And who, may I ask, are you?”

 

“You can ask but I’m not telling you. I need to speak to Gibbs, agent…” she let the sentence trail off in a way that all but demanded he fill in that blank.

 

“DiNozzo,” he said, looking mildly perturbed at the information that he’d just volunteered.

 

“DiNozzo,” she said with more than a hint of patronisation.

 

“Right, and when he asks who’s asking what should I tell…him?” 

 

He trailed off at the steely eyed glare she was giving him, one of her brows quirking upward. in irritation as his eyes met hers.

 

“Right. I’ll go get him.” He said, hurriedly as he rose from his chair, tripping over his wastepaper basket as he left. He stopped, turning back to her as a thought occurred to him. “Hey, you’re not his ex-wife, are you?”

 

If Jenny’s eyes had been formidable before, they were now downright deadly. “No, Agent DiNozzo, I’m not,” she said, her voice low and threatening.

 

“Okay then.” Tony said, pointing at her in a feigned casual gesture as he scuttled away, torn between staying longer to gather intelligence, and running away from the very scary but also very beautiful lady. 

 

He’d just rounded the corner into the interrogation corridor when he ran headlong into Ducky.

 

“Sorry, Anthony, I didn’t see you there.”

“Hey Ducky, you might know something about this: there’s a redhead out there asking for Gibbs who wouldn’t tell me her name. I asked her if she was his ex-wife, but she didn’t seem to like that much.”

 

Ducky paused as he put the two and two of timing and probability together, his brow furrowing in concern. “Ah. I do wonder if you’ve just met Jennifer.”

 

“So, who’s she then: ex-girlfriend, ex-fiancé? To be honest she seemed pretty pissed off.”

 

Ducky paused, seeming to weigh up how much to tell the young agent. “She was his partner.”

 

“Well now I’m his partner. So, what do I tell Gibbs?

 

Ducky shrugged. “Tell him whatever she told you to tell him. Trust me, you’ll do well to stay out of this one.”

 

“Gibbs!” Tony shouted as the man in question came out of the observation room.

 

Gibbs paused, turning to look at Tony inquiringly. “What?”

 

“There’s a lady down in the squad room, says she needs to talk to you.”

 

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “Did you ask for her name?”

 

“Yeah, she declined.”

 

“Well what does she look like, DiNozzo?” Gibbs asked, what was left of his patience evaporating fast.

 

“About 5 foot 7 inches, maybe 5 foot 8, red hair, tied back in a ponytail, really pretty--” 

 

Tony stopped short and winced as Gibbs swore under his breath. It had to be Jenny.

 

“What was that, Boss?” DiNozzo said, pleasantly surprised to have hit a nerve. 

 

If Gibbs hadn’t been in such a hurry, he would have smacked him, but instead he stormed off in the direction of the bullpen. Jenny wasn’t the kind to come slinking back, so there had to be something he didn’t know, and the kind of thing he might not know that would make her come all the way back here was something he was pretty sure he didn’t want to know.

 

Sure enough, as he rounded the corner to the bullpen, there she was, looking about as uncomfortable as she should, given the circumstances. He noted that she didn’t look any happier when she saw him coming.

 

He walked until he stood in front of her, waiting for her to speak, taking in her dishevelled appearance and the presence of same backpack she’d carried around Europe. _Fresh off the plane._ Something was urgent, then. He figured there was one of two things coming, and one was ridiculous and right out of one of his wives’ trashy romance novels, the other was terrifying.

 

Jenny didn’t bother with a greeting. “We need to talk.”

 

“Do we, Jen?”

 

“Please, Jethro.”

 

She seemed almost embarrassed, or even ashamed, which was unlike her. He also noticed her eyeballing DiNozzo, who’d followed him back from interrogation.

 

Gibbs took one look at the younger agent and turned back to Jenny. “Conference room,” he said, nodding his head towards the elevator.

 

He was all too aware that DiNozzo was lapping this up and wouldn’t put it past him to have his ear pressed against the elevator door within seconds. He made a mental note to make sure they were well and truly in between floors.

 

Without a word she hoisted her pack roughly onto her back and strode towards the closed metal doors, with Gibbs hot on her tail.

 

Ducky, who had witnessed the whole exchange from a safe distance, entered the bullpen as they left.

 

Tony watched with interest as the elevator doors slid shut before turning his attention to Ducky. “When you said ‘partners’ you meant work partners, right? Because that looked more like the sexual kind to me.”

 

Ducky didn't respond, he simply looked at Tony grimly, letting the younger man figure it out.

 

“Oh ho, you meant both kinds of partner! Who knew Gibbs was such a silver fox--”

 

“I’d advise you not to let Gibbs hear you talking like that.”

 

Tony winced. “He's behind me, isn't he.”

 

“Not this time.”

 

“You know, I think I'll sit down here at my desk and do some paperwork.”

 

“A wise choice, Anthony. If you need me, I'll be down in the morgue.”

  
  


 


	2. Chapter 2

They were silent as they entered the elevator and the air between them was heavy with the unsaid.

Gibbs snapped the emergency switch off as soon as he was sure they were out of earshot and let out a quiet sigh in an attempt to brace himself. When he finally turned to face her, tension was evident on his face. “What is it, Jen?”

Her face was stony, and he knew what was coming. 

“I’m pregnant, Jethro.”

A flare of anger rose within him as he realised just how upset he still was with her for leaving. “What so you were just going to leave and not tell me but now you’re having second thoughts?” he shouted, yelling out of nowhere.

And n a flash, she was toe-to-toe with him, hissing back. “You think I knew about this? This isn’t what I wanted! I could easily have gone ahead and terminated and never told you anything!”

“Yeah?” He said, arguing just because he felt like it. “Well why didn’t you?”

“Because I figured you at least deserved some say in all this! What, would you rather I just went and dealt with it?” she hissed, more than a little bit piqued. She hadn’t travelled all this way and not showered to be accused of planning this.

“No.” he said before catching her raised eyebrow, “No!”

“Then tell me, Jethro,” she began, quieter now, imploring. “What was I supposed to do, what am I supposed to do? Because I have no idea.”

Gibbs looked at her, his blue eyes catching her greys, oddly touched by her honesty. His anger died it its place. She was vulnerable, and she was showing it, which was something they never did, not to this level.

“Don't get rid of it, Jen.” His voice was so quiet, his eyes so solemnly, silently pleading that it took her breath away. 

She nodded feebly, as she held his gaze, the decision made, just like that.

A thought suddenly occurred to Gibbs. “How far?”

“How far along am I? By my calculations, about eight weeks.” Jenny said, pursing her lips.

“And the Doctor’s?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t seen one.”

“Jen…” He said, admonishingly.

“What? I didn’t want to do anything until I was sure.”

“And you’re sure now?”

“Of that part, yes.” Jenny looked at her watch, part out of need and partly because she did not want to have this conversation now. “I have an appointment to see the Director.”

“Does he know about all this?”

“He does.”

“Does he know about me?”

“Well I didn’t tell him, but I’m pretty sure he’s figured out that much.”

“You want me to come too?”

Jenny looked at him, her lips pursed wryly, with a glint in her eyes, amused by Gibbs’s attempt at chivalry. “I’m a big girl, I can handle it myself.”   
One side of her mouth quirked up in a half smile, and Gibbs couldn’t help but do the same.

He reached over and flicked the elevator back on, watching her as it whirred back to life. That was that part sorted, but what they were going to do about them was another thing entirely.

________________________________________

“Have a seat, Agent Shepard.” Director Morrow said, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk. He studied Jenny a moment before speaking. “Have you spoken to Agent Gibbs yet?”

“I have,” Jenny said nodding the affirmative.

“And am I correct in assuming his role in all this?” Morrow asked.

“You are, sir.” Jenny said, meeting his gaze head on. She had guts; he’d give her that. 

“And have you made a decision regarding what you’re planning on doing about it?

“I have. I'm afraid I'm no longer able to fulfil my role in Cairo, sir.” 

Morrow had gathered as much but was still unable to keep the surprise from his face. Up until now a promotion had been all she wanted. “That's a shame. You're a talented agent, Shepard.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said, smiling sadly. 

Morrow smiled back in kind. “Well then, how I would you feel about position back here at the Navy Yard? We could use your skills on the Major Crimes Response Team. Would you be willing to go back onto Gibbs’s team?”

Jenny’s eyebrows shot upwards.

“In reduced capacity of course,” Morrow continued at her expression, “Desk work and collecting evidence at crime scenes that have already been secured to take into account your condition.”

“Have you spoken to Agent Gibbs about this?”

“No, but I have a feeling he'll be wanting to keep a close eye on you anyway. “

“I can look after myself, sir.” 

“I know that, but given the circumstances, and his role in this...blessed event, I think it's appropriate.”

“Yes sir.”

“Meanwhile, I suggest you go home and get some rest, take that week off, then report to agent Gibbs next Monday.” 

Jenny nodded. “Is that all, sir?”

“For now. But if you see Agent Gibbs, tell him I'd like to see him. Oh, and Shepard?”

Jenny turned back to look at him.

“Congratulations.”

She gave him a tight smile before letting herself out.

Morrow shook his head and chuckled quietly to himself. Those two were consummate professionals, though they’d apparently consummated something else. Not that that in and of itself surprised him - he’d always suspected there was something between those two, but an ambitious, young agent like Shepard coming back from a plum promotion because she was pregnant with Gibbs’s love child? You couldn’t make this stuff up.

________________________________________

Gibbs returned to the bullpen and sat down at his desk, staying there all of thirty seconds before he decided he couldn’t stand to be in the same room as DiNozzo’s shit-eating grin a second longer. He pushed off from his desk, standing abruptly and strode out again without saying a word.

Ducky. He should go and see Ducky. 

He tried telling himself it was because it’d be better Jenny to have someone else read in on what was happening, a doctor, but the truth of it was that it was one of the rare occasions that he needed to tell somebody.

The doors to autopsy whooshed open to reveal Ducky cleaning one of the tables.

“Is everything okay, Jethro? Jenny looked awfully upset.”

Gibbs shrugged, it depended on your definition of okay. “She’s pregnant, Duck.”

Ducky’s eyes were wide when he met Gibbs’s. “Oh my... and it’s yours, I take it?”

Gibbs nodded, averting his eyes. Here he was, 46 years of age, hell, she was 32, and he felt like some dumb kid who’d knocked up his teenage girlfriend.

“How’s she taking it?”

“Seems fine.” He knew she wasn’t fine, but he didn’t want to answer for her.

“She’s brave, isn’t she.” Ducky said, looking at Gibbs rather pointedly in the eye, “She was brave to leave you, come to think of it. I think she saw whatever it was that none of your wives have seen until it was too late.”

“And what’s that, Duck?” Gibbs demanded, his voice loud and indignant, offended by the insinuation. “She wanted her career!”

“I don’t doubt that was part of it, but the fact that she’s here now telling you and not with her career should tell you a lot. I presume she is, as one would say, keeping it?” 

Gibbs nodded once again.

“Be there for her, Jethro, and do try to let her in."

Gibbs’s only response was to stare at him, but it was clear that Ducky had hit his mark.

“Tell her I’m here if she ever needs to talk.”

Gibbs said nothing and left, the morgue’s doors swishing shut behind him.

 

________________________________________

 

After work, Gibbs drove straight to Georgetown and parked outside Jenny’s house. The looming townhouse was dark except for the bottom floor.  
Before they’d left for Europe, he’d taken to sometimes letting himself in and drinking her bourbon as payback for her doing the same to his basement, something his wives had never ever been allowed to do. Diane had been livid, even though at the time she was long gone. She’d said something about coming back to pick up some clothes and yelled a whole lot of other things and then hit him with a golf club. He’d had to physically restrain Jenny to stop her arresting Diane.  
Gibbs got out of the car and rang the doorbell, only for it to be answered by Noemi, the young Hispanic woman who had been Jen’s maid at least as long as he’d known her. 

She looked surprised to see him. “She is asleep, Senor Gibbs.”

Gibbs nodded. “I’ll wait.”

The young woman looked conflicted, unsure whether she should let him in or not, but eventually stepped aside to let him past.

The inside of Jenny’s house was dark, almost oppressive, same as it’s always been. All decked out in reds, wood panelling and antique furniture. He didn’t like it. If he had his way, he’d sand it all back and re-stain it a lighter colour. He headed found the kitchen, an acceptable waiting place, conspicuously not the study or the formal lounge, and sat himself down at the kitchen table.

Noemi followed him there, studying him a moment. “I go now, Senor Gibbs.”

He nodded at her again, listening until he heard the front door close behind her. His eyes shifted to Jenny’s fancy looking coffee machine. 

He needed coffee.

He shrugged to himself before making short work of concocting a brew, sitting down again with mug in hand.

Who knew when Jen would surface.

His anger at her for leaving was evaporating faster than he thought it would. He’d been so busy being mad at her for choosing her career over him that he hadn’t even stopped to think of any other reasons she might have had.  
Ducky’s words had left him feeling guilty at assigning her the blame.  
She'd told him she loved him in Paris, and he'd laughed at her and brushed it off. He'd hurt her first, but at the time he'd done it because he was getting close to having feelings for her too big to deal with, he was worried that just maybe he might love her too. 

It wasn’t like he’d meant to get involved with Jen, but he hadn’t tried not to either.

She was so unlike anyone he’d ever met, yet here he was.

He’d spent years trying to avoid this kind of situation. When Rebecca had wanted a baby, he’d said no. When Diane had mentioned it his answer had been to drink half a bottle of bourbon and take it out on his boat.

It scared him. He’d loved Kelly more than he’d thought humanly possible, and she’d died.

It was so damn early in the pregnancy, and already he felt intensely protective, not just of it, but of Jenny.

He was screwed. 

He contemplated going to the study to see if the bourbon was where they left it.

A soft sound beside him caused him to look up, and he was unsurprised to find Jenny looking at him from the doorway, with one brow arched. She’d been expecting him.

“I don't remember inviting you in.”

“You didn't.” Gibbs said, smirking at her.

“Figures. Noemi?”

“Uhuh. If it helps, she wasn't happy about it.”

“It doesn’t.” she said, pursing her lips to one side. “Help yourself,” she said, nodding to the empty cup of coffee.”

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “Do you want a drink?” He said, nodding to the kettle on the kitchen counter.

“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought this was my kitchen.” She said tilting her head with a smirk.

Gibbs sighed loudly. “Do you want a drink or not, Jen?”

“Tea, thanks.” She said, smirking.

Gibbs shot her an incredulous look.

Jenny shrugged. “Coffee just doesn’t seem appealing right now.”

Gibbs stared at her for a moment. Usually Jenny mainlined coffee like he did, often going so far as to steal his, though, come to think of it, Shannon had gone through something similar, she’d started feeling sick next. He was going to have to tell her about Shannon. Whatever they were now, whatever they ended up being, Jenny needed to know. “How are you feeling?”

“Like someone ran me over with a truck.” At the look on his face, she added, “I’m fine, Jethro.”

He didn’t look like he believed her, but he nodded as he busied himself making her tea. “Where do you keep the bags?”

“Top cabinet on your left.”

She smiled softly as he set the mug down in front of her. He was being unusually sweet.

Gibbs was slow to sit back down as he contemplated his next move, but eventually sat down across from her. Jenny watched with an air of trepidation as he dug his wallet out of his back pocket.   
He opened it, pulling out a worn photo, sliding it across the table to her.

She picked it up off the table slowly, her eyes widening as she took in the scene it portrayed. A Beautiful red-haired lady, and a little girl with brown hair and Jethro’s eyes.

She lifted her gaze to meet his, and she knew. They’d been his, and they were no longer with him, or anyone else. “What were their names?” she said, her voice betraying the tears that were now blurring her vision.

“My wife was Shannon, and that’s my daughter, Kelly.”

“What happened?”

“Murdered.”

“Jethro.” Jenny whispered in horror, reaching out to grasp his hand.

The fact that his eyes are watery is her undoing, and a quiet sob escapes her.

Gibbs wanted to run. This was the first time he'd told anyone about his family without them forcing his hand, and it's foreign and uncomfortable, and that was without Jenny crying.

“When?” She asked, her voice husky.

“When what?” He said, though he knew full well what she was asking.

“When did it happen?”

“Ninety-two. Shannon witnessed the murder of a naval officer, the guy who did it shot the NIS agent protecting them, he was driving, and they died in the car crash.”

“I'm sorry, Jethro.” Jenny said, trying to impart her words with as much meaning as she could.

“She was only eight years old.” Gibbs said, almost to nobody.

Jenny doesn't have to ask which she, but it was a punch to the gut. A complication to add to the ever-growing pile.   
Gibbs was as stoic as ever despite his watery eyes, and Jenny wanted nothing more than to go over there and comfort him, but she doesn't know what's right anymore.”

“Just thought you should know.” Gibbs said, his voice rough.

“Thank you.” Jenny said, her voice also still laden with emotion.

He nodded, clearing his throat. “I should go.”

“Right.”

When he stood up, Jenny followed suit, walking him to the front door.

“See you at work?” Gibbs asked.

“Morrow gave me the week off, said he wanted to talk to you, by the way.”

Gibbs snorted quietly. “I’ll bet he does.”

Jenny smirked and looked away, and an awkward silence settled between them for a beat before Jenny broke it. “Goodnight, Jethro,” she said, stretching up to kiss his cheek against her better judgement.

The edge of Gibbs’s mouth quirked upward in a faint smile as Jenny shut the door behind him.


	3. Chapter 3

Jenny tossed and turned more than she slept that night, there was too much to think about, and now it was after midday and she was still holed up in bed. 

Jethro had had a wife and daughter, and they had  _ died. _

It explained a lot about him but, if anything, knowing made it worse. His issues had a cause now, they had names, and she was feeling even more uneasy about what it might mean for their future. He wanted her to keep the baby, but whether or not he was even capable of being there for them emotionally remained to be seen; though really he’d probably be fine with the kid, it was just her who was going to get left by the wayside.

She had never thought of him as a father before, yet he had been since before she met him. Sure, he had always been good with kids, but this was something else.

There was all that, and the fact that she missed what they had had fiercely.

They were in the same city now, but still so far apart, and 

romantically this was all far too dangerous for her liking. She had left in an attempt to salvage what was left of her heart and now here she was, more vulnerable and with higher stakes, trusting him with her back and not much more.

She had had never had much time for love. Men had come, men had gone, and she had taken what she had needed and given nothing more than that. It had all seemed so pointless and irrelevant, yet somehow, she had gone and fallen in love  _ with her boss _ , no less, such a broken, obstinate  _ ass _ of a man.

It was not as though she hadn’t seen it coming either, she’d just that she’d ignored it because she was her and he was Gibbs, which in retrospect was exactly the problem.

Having this baby either meant she was brave or very stupid, and she wasn’t prepared to hedge her bets either way on how this was going to play out.

She buried her head under her pillow in an attempt to make it all go away; her father was probably rolling in his grave. 

All he had ever wanted for her was her to get a plush job on the hill, but instead she had joined NCIS, following the allure of counterintelligence and stopping the bad guys just like him and his position at The Pentagon. She had wanted to put a dent in the arms trade, cut down the bad guys before they started.

Her father had been livid and had gone from trying to talk her out of it to out forbidding her to do to finally flat out refusing to speak to her. He had paid for some of her tuition, dammit, so he had a say in what she did with it; God forbid she ever do anything to get her hands dirty.

Then with no warning he’d died, and was left disgraced and discarded by the Army he’d loved. Jenny had immediately requested a field assignment, because field experience would get her to the top faster, you could do all kinds of things from the top including, but not limited to, hunting amphibians.

If her father had been rolling then, maybe he was spinning now.

That had been her plan: rise to the top as fast as she could, clear his name, and eliminate  _ ‘The Frog’ _ , only she had not counted on life getting in the way, especially not so spectacularly.

Suddenly seeking justice for her father seemed less important and slid quietly into the back seat. She had never been able to shake the hurt or the searing injustice of it all. 

In Paris she’d oh so briefly considered giving it all up for Gibbs, only to have that resoundingly dashed, but even without him, the prospect of becoming a mother had given her something unexpected: Something to hold onto that wasn't avenging her father. 

Jenny groaned and rolled her somewhat dishevelled self out of bed.

She had a doctor’s appointment in about an hour, and for that she was going to need a long, hot shower.

* * *

 

Her appointment had gone off without a hitch, and she was now armed with a print of the very surreal contents of her uterus, but Jenny did not want to go home. 

Whether it was the comfort of a habit or something more, she wanted to see Jethro, she wanted to share this with someone. Her mind drifted back to the first time she had sought him out at home.

The first time she had gone to his house was because he had left his jacket at work. She probably should have ignored it, but she had just been handed a brilliant excuse to check out the personal life of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and she had not been about to pass up on it. She had figured at most she’d just be ringing a doorbell and handing it back to his wife, but even that would tell her something, and she’d wanted to know  _ more. _

As it happened, no wife had answered when she had knocked on his door, in fact nobody had, so she’d flipped open her phone and jabbed speed-dial one.

He had answered almost immediately. “Yeah, Gibbs.”

Jenny had rolled her eyes. “You left your jacket at work and I’m outside your house, what do you want me to do with it?”

“Door’s unlocked,” he’d stated plainly, and then hung up on her. Typical.

His had been house dark and quiet and surprisingly devoid of anything indicating a personal touch.  _ Surely Diane would have made sure that-- _ and then it hit her: Diane was gone. She filed that information away for later before wandering deeper, following the faint glow coming from what appeared to be a laundry room that led to a basement door.

He hadn’t looked up when she descended the stairs.

“Gibbs.” Jenny said, her face mock serious as she surveyed the scene in front of her.

“Mm?” He’d said, lazily turning his attention from his work.

“There’s a boat in your basement.” She deadpanned.

“Well yeah, Jen.” He’d said, cracking a smile. He moved over to one of the benches and emptied out a mason jar. “You want a drink?”

“What have you got?”

“Bourbon.”

Jenny shrugged. “Sure”. She’d never tried it, but her father had been a scotch man and she doubted it was all that different: Hard liquor in a different flavour.

And thus, an unlikely tradition had been born. 

Every so often she would find her way into his basement to drink his bourbon and watch him work on his boat, all the while discussing cases or bitching about Stan Burley - usually both.

Some way, somehow, she’d been allowed into his hallowed space.

This had all been fine until one time Diane had showed up - something about missing a pair of shoes. They had heard her heels clicking somewhat ominously on the floor above.

She and Gibbs froze.

“Leroy…” Diane had called as she’d started down the stairs but stopped short as she’d caught sight of Jenny. “Who the hell is she?” she’d demanded sharply.

“Nice to see you too, Diane.” Gibbs quipped sarcastically.

Jenny had smirked, which was something Diane’s sharp eyes didn’t miss. They were ice. “You know he’s married, sweetie?” she’d all but spat.

Jenny’s eyes narrowed, and she’d smiled a treacherous smile. “Oh, well, it can’t be to you, seeing as you don’t, you know,  _ live here.’” _

“Jen...” Gibbs had warned, all too aware that this was not the worst either woman could do.

“Oh, so this is your new agent, huh, Leroy. She’s pretty and has red hair, how convenient. Have you been screwing her since the day she started or just since I left?”

Neither, it was neither.

“ _ Upstairs, _ Diane.” Gibbs growled.

The sound of raised voices had been audible from upstairs, followed by a yell of pain and the slam of a door.

Jenny had been mortified when Gibbs had come downstairs bleeding from a split in his temple.

“What the hell did she do!”

“It’s okay, Jen.”

“ _ Okay?!”  _ Jenny yelled incredulously, “What about this is  _ okay? _ She should be arrested! You’re bleeding from your head, Jethro! She assaulted a federal agent!”

Gibbs had to grab her arm to stop her from leaving and then flat out refused to press charges.

“I hurt her, Jen.” He’d said, but she’d known that he hadn’t meant physically.

Going by that reasoning, Jenny figured that at this point he was lucky she didn’t play golf.

She stopped her car outside his house, which was dark except for a faint glow coming from somewhere deeper inside the building. He was probably in the basement because what else was new.

She didn’t bother knock, he never answered anyway; instead letting herself in. His door was unlocked, same as always.

Gibbs paused his sander mid stroke when he heard the tell-tale sounds of someone entering the house, the gait familiar on the floor above.  _ Jenny. _

Sure enough, a moment later the woman in question started down the stairs. Gibbs put down his tools and watched her descend, the stairs creaking as she did. 

She was hesitant, maybe a little self-conscious, and ever so slightly bigger around the middle - something he only noticed because of his intimate knowledge of how it had been before now.

This fact stunned him into staring

Jenny smirked in his direction, raising an eyebrow at him, “What is it, Jethro?”

“You’re bigger.”

She ducked her head and smiled self-consciously, his observation catching her off guard.

“Everything okay?” he continued.

“Yeah, fine. I just stopped by to give you this,” she said, holding out an envelope to him, which he took after a moment’s hesitation.

_ Jen and her damn letters. _

He made short work of the envelope, flipping the flap open and peering at the contents. It was no letter. He sucked in a breath of air as he realised what he was looking at: Jen had been to see a doctor. He studied the grainy black and white print. It was tiny, it looked kind of like an alien, but there on film was the unmistakable form of a baby.

“You’re more than eight weeks.” Gibbs observed gruffly as he noticed the numbers at the top:  _ 10w2d. _

“It’s only an estimate, but they took measurements.”

Gibbs nodded. He remembered how it went. “How are you feeling?”

“A little queasy now and then, and I can’t stand broccoli.” Jenny said wryly.

Gibbs laughed at the absurdity of a personal vendetta against broccoli in anyone older than the age of 12, especially given Jenny had happily eaten said vegetable and others off of his plate more than once while in Europe. An idea crossed his mind. “Have you eaten?” he asked after a moment’s pause.

“Not yet.” she replied, peering at him cautiously through her lashes.

“Lemme buy you dinner.” Gibbs said, succumbing to a strong sudden strong urge to look after Jen and therefore his child. The fact that he would get to spend more time with her didn’t hurt either.

A genuine smile spread across Jenny’s face. “That’d be nice.”

He was still screwed, of that Gibbs was sure, but for the first time since ‘91, there was the ghost of a sense that might someday be okay with that. 

He’d do his penance later and hoped to hell he could convince himself Shannon would understand. He put his hand on the small of Jenny’s back and guided her back to the staircase and grinned as he remembered a piece of gossip he had heard earlier.

“Hey, did you hear Diane moved in with Fornell?”

The sound of Jen’s throaty laughter followed them up the stairs, “She what!?”

* * *

  
  


Jenny lasted a whole other day at home before deciding she had had enough of this time off business. She didn’t want time off; she didn’t want to spend time worrying about all this any more than she already had. Besides, she would rather continue to gauge where she stood with Gibbs in person instead of making blind stabs from afar.

Entering NCIS felt more normal this time. She was safely wrapped in the armour of business casual, her hair neatly tied back in a ponytail, feet encased in smart heels, the pack slung over one shoulder containing only her crime scene boots and other personal gear. The cup of sweet tea she was carrying didn’t hurt either, caffeine be damned.

The elevator dinged open and she noted with no small amount of satisfaction that there was no sign of either Gibbs or DiNozzo.

“Morning, Pacci.” She said, flashing a smile to the seemingly ever-present agent as she walked past.

“Heya, Shepard. You back now, are you?”

“I am.”

“Lucky Gibbs.”

Jenny smirked and kept walking as she weighed up her options for where she was going to sit. 

Now, to sit across from Gibbs and next to DiNozzo, or closer to Gibbs and able to keep an eye on DiNozzo? Definitely the latter.

She stowed her pack behind her new desk and sat down, reclining languidly in the chair, and taking a sip of tea as she waited for the men to arrive. She didn’t have to wait long before Tony came in, striding blearily towards his desk.

Jenny smirked. “Morning, Agent DiNozzo,” she said before Tony had a chance to notice her.

Tony squawked in surprise, recoiling as he realised just who it was that had scared him. 

“So, what can I do for you,  _ 'Jennifer', _ " he said, making sure her name was pronounced as sarcastically as possible.

"Nothing, Agent DiNozzo." She purred, pursing her lips at him, satisfied that he was on the back foot yet again.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Very."

An awkward beat of silence followed. Tony felt uncomfortable. Tony didn’t  _ like _ feeling uncomfortable. “What are you doing here anyway?" He said, annoyed by her apparently innate ability to mess with him.

"Waiting."

"For..."

"Gibbs." Jenny said indulgently, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Yeah, because he seemed so happy to see you last time--"

Tony was stopped by a slap to the back of the head as Gibbs walked into the bullpen.

Jenny grinned.

"Hiya boss. Someone here to see you,” Tony said, wincing.

“I can see that, DiNozzo.”

Gibbs turned his attention to Jenny. “What are you doing here, Jen?”

“Reporting to work,” she retorted smartly.

Gibbs rolled his eyes. “You’re four days early.”

Jenny shrugged with practiced nonchalance “I got bored.”

“Fine.” Gibbs said before turning back to DiNozzo. “Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, this is Special Agent Jenny Shepard.”

“Guess that makes me the bottom of the food chain, then.”

“Uhuh.”

“Great.” Tony said, just loud enough for Gibbs to hear.

“What was that, DiNozzo?” Gibbs said, daring him to say it again.

“I said ‘Great to have her working with us’, boss!”

Jenny smirked, pinning Tony with a knowing stare.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and continued. “She’ll be assisting us with desk work and crime scenes that have already been secured”

Tony looked at Jenny and narrowed his eyes. She seemed competent enough, so something else must be going on. “Is this special treatment a girl thing, or...?”

Jenny thwacked a stack of files down on her desk loudly and Gibbs gave him a hard stare.

“Right, I guess I’ll never ask that question again.” Tony said to no one in particular before turning his attention back to Jenny. “So, what do I call you: Jen?”

“Jenny.”

“Well then how come he calls you Jen?” Tony said, pointing to Gibbs with his thumb.

Gibbs looked between the two as Jenny tilted her chin down and glared at Tony pointedly while DiNozzo bit his fist to stop god only knew what coming out of his mouth.

Gibbs sighed. He was happy to have Jen back again, on the team or otherwise, but he was starting to get the feeling he was going to have to spend time babysitting Jenny and DiNozzo both to keep her stress levels down and to stop her from killing his newest agent.

 


	4. Chapter 4

Gibbs sat in his basement nursing a jar of bourbon as he ran his thumb over the print Jen had left him the week before, before swiftly reminding himself not to get too attached. She hadn’t even cleared the first trimester yet, and there was a world of things that could go horribly wrong.

 

He found he was struggling to keep his hands-off Jenny at work. They hadn’t discussed whether he was even allowed to touch her, but the intimacy that had become habit in Europe was making his fingers itch to the point of almost acting on their own. The fact that she looked so damn good at the moment was also decidedly not helping. This was a problem at the best of times, but her hair was getting longer again and growing out of the sleek bob she’d cut it into while they were away, her face a little fuller, her cheeks rosier.

She was beautiful; the fabled pregnancy glow was suiting her, and as blindsided as he’d been by this whole affair, there was a part of him that was pretty damn pleased with himself for being the one to do this to her. He smirked at the thought.

Gibbs tried to remember whether Shannon had been similar, but she’d been far sicker at an earlier stage, and being a Marine on active duty at the time meant that he’d missed out on a lot of this; they’d deployed him when Shannon was this far along, and hadn’t seen her again until months after Kelly was born. 

Old guilt nagged at him, a feeling he was all too familiar with. Even before they’d been unceremoniously torn from his life. he’d missed out on a lot of their daily lives. Jen was mercifully close by, but the fact that this pregnancy would be full of firsts for him as well was bittersweet.

 

Though they were going to have to broach the topic of their relationship at some point or another or they’d only be Jen’s firsts. They’d both been skirting it since the minute she’d returned, and it wasn't sitting right. Neither of them was the type to just outright confront their issues, but if they didn’t, one of these days they might not be able to fix it even if they tried. 

He understood why she’d left, even if he didn’t like it, and he didn't want to miss out on any more than he had to. Time was precious, and experience had already taught him the cruel lesson that later didn’t always exist.

 

Gibbs was pleased that Morrow had put Jen back on his team. 

When he’d asked the older man why exactly this was the case, he’d essentially been told him that it was because Jen could be difficult to work with, but Gibbs wasn’t fooled. Jenny was more than capable of being a pain in the ass when she put her mind to it, and the influence of hormones would probably even make her worse, but this was more about him. Morrow knew full well that Gibbs would’ve been bothering who ever he’d needed to in order to keep tabs on her and her assignment. It was easier just to put Gibbs in charge of her and be done with it.

 

Fine by him. He didn’t have to ask her what she’d been doing all day if he could see her.

 

Jen had been taking to desk work better than he’d thought she would. She put on a brave face but he could tell she was restless, and she divided her time between working and messing with DiNozzo, but he hadn’t heard her complain so far. The fact that she was so talented at scaring the shit out of DiNozzo amused Gibbs greatly. Once or twice he’d almost intervened but then thought better of it. Jen could handle herself, and both times DiNozzo had been asking for it. He’d learn. Hopefully.

 

The younger agent clearly knew something was up, you could see his mind working away, but he hadn’t put two and two together yet, but it was only a matter of time. Gibbs smirked. The truth of the situation obviously hadn’t occurred to Tony yet, which was as flattering as it was funny. He didn’t think Gibbs would do what Gibbs definitely did.

 

_Oh well, May as well enjoy it while it lasts._

 

* * *

 

Tony strolled into Abby’s lab, looking for his fellow recently acquired employee. He was bursting to talk to someone about the nature of Jenny’s existence and he had limited choices. 

The woman in question would probably order his execution if he asked what he wanted to know, Gibbs would be the one to carry out said execution, Pacci had laughed and told him to ask Gibbs, and Ducky flat out refused to elaborate further, so that left Abby, their domesticated goth and forensic scientist.

 

“Hey Abby,” Tony said looking around the lab.

 

Abby’s head popped up from behind her desk in a perky fashion. “What can I do for you, Tony?”

 

Tony walked over to her looking more than a little shifty, unable to shake the feeling that Gibbs might magically appear. “You hear about our new team member?”

 

“Oh yeah; I've met her, she seems nice.”

 

Tony scoffed. “Nice, she is not _nice._ I mean, how can someone be that doe-eyed and scary at the same time? But there’s something weird going on there, don’t you think?” he said, persisting with his line of inquiry.

 

Abby narrowed her eyes as she tried to gauge his angle. “Define weird.”

 

“Well. She’s on our team, yet she’s basically assigned to desk duty. Came with us to a crime scene the other day but she looked like she was going to barf, so Gibbs told her to go wait in the car. He’s always checking up on her, he looks at his desk more often than he glares at me, and that’s saying something. Oh, and bathroom breaks, she’s _constantly_ wandering off in that direction. The weirdest part is that Gibbs is just putting up with it.”

 

Abby stood grinning widely at him. 

 

“What?” Tony said, wondering what she’d got from all that that he’d missed.

 

“You’re saying that you can’t think of anything that would cause all of those symptoms?”

 

Tony frowned. “Symptoms? What do you mean ‘symptoms’?” Realisation dawned on his face. “Oh. Holy _shit_. I thought she was a little pudgy around the middle for someone her size.”

 

“Don’t let her hear you say that” Abby said pointedly.

 

“Well then that begs the question as to why she's even on our team.”

 

“Isn’t it obvious, Tony?” Abby said, waiting patiently for the penny to drop for the second time.

 

Tony’s eyes grew round as realisation dawned yet again. “He didn’t...He _did!”_ Tony exclaimed in a state of wonder, a stupid grin on his face. “They were on some kind of mission together in Europe before this apparently, that must have been where it happened!

 

“DiNozzo!” Gibbs barked sharply, having appeared silently in the doorway to the lab.

 

Tony flinched. “Yes boss, shutting up boss! I’ll just...go and run down those plates Jenny found and stay out of her way.”

 

Abby stood, beaming at Gibbs as Tony scarpered.

 

Gibbs sighed quietly. “What is it, Abby?” He asked, even though he knew.

 

If possible, her smile grew even wider. “Congratulations, Gibbs!” The goth said, throwing her arms awkwardly around Gibbs, who patted her on the back. “How exciting! You tell Agent Shepard that if she ever needs to take a break she’s always welcome in my lab!”

 

Gibbs smiled at the sentiment. She might be new here, but Abby had a heart of gold. “I’ll tell her, Abs.”

 

“Is it a boy or a girl.”

 

“Don’t know,” Gibbs said shortly.

 

“When’s she due?

 

“August. The case, Abby,” he said in a semi-futile attempt to get Abby off of his.

 

“Right.”  
  
  


* * *

 

Gibbs looked at the time at the bottom of his monitor before shooting Jenny a look, which she pointedly ignored.

 

“Go home, Jen.” He said, swiveling his chair to look at his still-working partner. It was 7pm and DiNozzo had left an hour ago. She should be eating or sleeping or something involving taking care of herself, but she was apparently not interested. As far as he was concerned, she wasn’t doing enough of _any_ of these.

 

“Only if you take your own advice. She shot back, barely sparing him a glance.

 

Gibbs looked at her balefully before standing up and grabbing his coat. He wasn’t sure what her game was, and he didn’t care. “Walk to your car?”

 

Jenny pursed her lips and thought about arguing with him but decided against it and pushed away from her desk. “I’m guessing by the look DiNozzo’s had on his face all afternoon means that he’s figured us out?” She said as she stood up.

 

“Yup.”

 

“Great,” Jenny said, her voice and expression deadpan as she shrugged on her coat. “How long until the entire building knows?”

 

“Oh, I give it ‘til lunch time tomorrow.” Gibbs said as he headed for the elevator, jabbing the call button.

 

Jenny shook her head ruefully. “That guy is more Burley than Stan could ever hope to be.” She said, smiling wryly, which in turn elicited a soft chuckle from Gibbs. “Think we can trick DiNozzo into doing something scandalous so that no one notices us?” Jenny said, only half serious.

 

“Like what, Jen? They’ve been taking bets on us since before we left for Europe. Abby’s excited.”

 

“Well I’m glad someone is,” she said as the elevator arrived.

 

Gibbs looked at her sharply, bothered by such a statement.

 

Jenny looked up at him wearily and sighed. “It’s all too uncertain for me to be excited, Jethro.”

 

Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. “It’ll be okay, Jen.

She held his gaze but was unable to afford herself the luxury of believing such a statement. “How are we going to do this, anyway?”

 

“What, have a baby?” Gibbs said, smirking.

 

“Pretty sure we’ve got that part sorted. I meant more what are we going to do with it when it gets here.”

 

“We love it, we take care of it.”

 

“But what about us, are we together or apart in this?” Jenny said, charting a course straight into the elephant in the room.

 

“You left!” Gibbs said too loudly as the elevator reached its destination, the doors opening. 

 

Jenny lowered her voice. “Can you blame me, Jethro? I confessed having feelings for you and you threw it back in my face. At that point my career was looking more solid than anything you had to offer!” She hissed as they made for the exit of the building, attracting the stares of the security guards and a few fellow agents.

 

“Well then why are you here, Jen?”

 

She whirled to face him, her cheeks flushed against the cool evening air. “You had a right to know, and I’m not going to deprive it of its father! I grew up with only one parent, and I don’t want the same for this child; my father meant the world to me. I also meant what I said in Paris, and that hasn’t magically gone away because I got out,” she hissed venomously.

 

“Got out! What does that make me, a mission that went bad?” Gibbs shouted as they neared her car.

 

“You know what I mean!”

 

He did, he just didn't want to. Gibbs ran a hand roughly down the bottom half of his face.He didn’t so much blame her, but he was angry at her for forcing some of his most glaring flaws to the surface. “It’s hard, Jen.” he ground out.

 

“You think it isn’t for me?” she said, her voice dangerously low, her eyes flashing.

 

“It’s not the same!”

 

“And how do you know that? My father _died_ , Jethro. He was all I had in the entire world, and he was framed and murdered. He gave his life to the army, he worked hard for the respect he deserved, and they threw him out like trash! It might not be exactly the same as losing your wife and daughter, but you’re not the only person on this planet who’s been hurt!” Jenny was shouting at him now. 

 

Gibbs saw her tears a moment before they started to fall and did the only thing he could at that point and swiftly pulled her to his chest. He tangled his fingers in her hair as he cradled her head and pressed a kiss to her forehead as he reeled from the emotional shots she’d just fired, uncomfortable pieces falling into place.

 

At least one ex-wife had yelled something similar at him before, but never to such an effect. He’d just dismissed them outright and waited for the marriage to die of natural causes, but this was different and infinitely more complicated. Jenny was under his skin to the point where he was afraid of what it might mean. 

He wasn’t just afraid of falling for her, if he dared examine things further, he knew he’d discover he’d fallen a long time ago.

 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: In this chapter we begin the case file part of this story, which is going to incorporate parts of Yankee White, so any dialogue/plot points/whatever you recognise is from there and obviously not mine, though I’ve replaced a lot of it with my own. I may end up writing in some more S1 episodes, but I haven’t decided yet :)
> 
> Updates are probably going to get slightly slower after this, but the aim is that they still won’t take too long. I’m still working on it, but my baby is a little older now and has decided he’s no longer happy just lying on the floor playing with toys, so carving out time to write is just that little bit harder.
> 
> Enjoy < 3

In true Gibbs fashion he hadn’t said another word, and Jenny was _pissed._ Twice now she had put in the effort and opened up to him, and twice he’d pulled the ‘strong and silent type,’ and if he wasn’t going to even try, then what was the damn point? They had reached stalemate unless she decided to do something radical, like leave.

 

She slammed her heavy wooden front door behind her with little satisfaction, a nearby side table rattling as she did. Gibbs had wanted to drive her home, but five minutes later after he’d failed to say _anything_ in response to her outburst, she’d disentangled herself from his grasp and left him standing in the parking lot.

 

“Will someone please remind me why I came back again?” she deadpanned out loud to her her empty house.

 

Really, she couldn’t have kept it and not, but it didn’t make the sentiment any less real. She wasn’t about to raise a baby overseas while on an op, and though circumstances were certainly fucking lamentable, she was finding it impossible to truly regret it; something that before all this she’d have found hard to fathom. Maybe she was a closet romantic: cute.

 

Jenny wandered aimlessly, first to the study and then back to the kitchen as she changed her mind mid-step.

 

Since returning she’d been coming to the realisation that she didn’t feel very at home in her house. It was dark and old and _exactly_ how her father had left it. It wasn’t hers. He’d left it to her, and in five years she hadn’t been able to bring herself to change a thing, instead living side by side with its ghosts.

 

Work was slowly and monotonously driving her crazy. Agent DiNozzo was an idiot. Hidden in there was a man both sharp and ballsy, but his façade was incessant, and she hated it.

There were only so many hours in a day she could enjoy putting him back in his place, and for the rest of that time she was wearing down her molars, and the desk work she was meant to be tolerating while doing this was a snore. To think she’d signed onto NCIS to be an analyst; and those rare times she could actually accompany the men into the field she had Gibbs breathing down her neck lest anyone so much as think of doing something unsafe around her.

 

She had half a mind to request a transfer over to Counter Terrorism, but that wouldn’t solve anything.

 

Jenny frowned as her stomach grumbled; whether it was a hungry grumble or a ‘don’t even try to feed me’ grumble was anyone’s guess. There was barely a moment anymore that wasn’t covered by hungry, thirsty, queasy, needing to pee, or all of them at the same time, and the latest development was that wearing a bra was driving her crazy, though all hell would probably break loose if she went to work without one, starting with DiNozzo.

 

* * *

  
  


Gibbs thudded angrily down the basement stairs, reaching roughly for the bourbon and a last night’s jar when he reached the bench. He was furious at both himself and _her_. How dare she be right and, more to the point, how dare she punch more holes in his carefully constructed safe zone. 

He could hardly blame her, and yet he very much did because it was far easier than any of the alternatives. He shoved the little voice in his head telling him just what he was destroying back into the dark recesses of his mind and poured a generous measure of bourbon into the jar in the hope that it would numb a few things.

He’d seen the exact moment the shutters had fallen behind her eyes and he’d done nothing about it.

She wasn’t Shannon, she could never be Shannon, and why couldn’t she just be happy with what he _could_ give her, dammit? He slapped the workbench angrily along with his thoughts

Then to top it all off, Jen had gone running off again, just like in Paris.

He was reaching now, and he didn’t care because it was nothing like Paris.

 

Shannon was his first love - his _only_ love - and the mother of his child, and Jenny was now challenging this position in multiple ways, least of all because he’d gone and also made her _the mother of his child._ But it wasn’t just that; she was more important than anyone since Shannon, and the panic he felt meant couldn’t reconcile it. He remembered back to Paris and that sinking feeling as the light had hit Jenny’s hair and she’d turned and smiled at him and it had hit him square in the chest: There was a lot more between them than lust, and he from that he hadn’t recovered.

 

He’d spent his deployments dreaming of his little family back home - Shannon’s gentle, caressing touch, the smell of her skin, Kelly’s laugh, the feel of her hair against his face as she ran to him for a cuddle, and all the years since imagining they were still here.

 

He was terrified of letting Shannon down, of replacing her and Kelly, of forgetting everything they once were, but now with the added paralysis of doing the same to this new child by way of not doing anything at all.

It wasn’t fair, it was so bitterly unfair.

But it also wasn’t fair on Jenny to keep on blaming her, but here he was doing just that.

 

He sat down heavily on a stool next to the bench and thought instead about the other things Jenny had said about her father and the implications they might have. He knew the man was dead, but she’d never told him how and he’d never asked. He had no idea where her mother was, and rumour had it that she had a sister, but they’d been masters of ‘I won’t scratch yours if you don’t scratch mine.’

 

His first clue had been that big, old house of hers; it didn’t fit. It was dark and deep and oddly severe with a side helping of pretentiousness. Jen could definitely _be_ pretentious, but it didn’t fit, it wasn’t her _._ It contrasted sharply with the woman he’d lived with halfway across Europe; with her mix of sensuality, humour and ability to see right through him in all her softness and lace.

There was more there than what she was saying that much was obvious. She’d been hurt badly, and he wanted to know how.

 

Gibbs ran his hand roughly down his face. He was going to have to find a way to fix this. For all the hurt, for all the anger and railing against it he owed it to her, he owed it to their future child, and he had to at least _try._

He was going to have to break Rule 6: ‘ _Never say you’re sorry, it’s a sign of weakness’_. 

 

Because it wasn’t weak to expose weakness to a friend, and she was far more than that; he at least owed her that.

 

* * *

 

Jenny hadn’t come into work again for almost a week. She’d called when she knew he’d be the least likely to pick up and left a voicemail saying she was taking some days off; then when he’d tried repeatedly to call her back to make sure everything was okay, she’d answered the sixth time long enough to tell him nothing was wrong and to leave her alone. Fine, if that was how she wanted it.

DiNozzo had spent the entire time shooting him concerned looks, eventually asking if Jenny was still on their time, but after a curt nod to the affirmative, the younger agent stopped mentioning it but kept up the furtive glances.

 

It was Saturday again, and they were meant to have the day off, but the fact that his phone was ringing meant that probably wasn’t going to be the case.

 

“Yeah, Gibbs,” he said, as he answered his phone.

 

“A navy commander carrying the football on Air Force One just carked it in the air,” DiNozzo’s voice said on the other end.

 

“Where’d they land?”

 

“Wichita, Kansas. The president’s transferring to the backup bird. I booked us on a United flight out of Reagan; stops in Dallas before going on to Wichita.”

 

“That the best you can do?”

 

“It’s a Saturday, Gibbs. Y’know if we had our own jet…”

 

“We don’t.”

 

“Hey, is Shepard back with us? I wasn’t sure, but I booked her a seat as well.”

 

“Uhuh.”

 

“Are you gonna call her, or shall I?”

 

“You can.” 

 

Tony suppressed a sputter of surprise as Gibbs continued. He’d half expected Jenny to be over there with Gibbs and failing that completely expected him to want to be the one to call their absent female agent.

 

“Ducky’s buds with coroners all over the country, see if you can’t get one of them to hold the body for us until we get out there.”

 

“On it, boss,” he said and hung up.

 

Gibbs was not entirely sure getting DiNozzo to call Jenny was the right move, but right now the younger agent probably had a better chance of having her pick up than he did.

He was hoping to fix that sometime soon, but first things first.

 

* * *

 

The team arrived at the domestic terminal at about the same time, with Tony and Gibbs nearing the automatic doors as Jenny climbed out of her cab.

 

“Hey boss, there she is.”

 

Gibbs paused to take in her appearance; it was business casual as usual, topped off with a pair of large sunglasses, her red hair pulled into a messy ponytail. His eyes drifted to the ever-present tiny bulge and back up again as she regarded him coolly from behind her shades.

 

“Jenny,” Gibbs greeted mildly.

 

“Gibbs,” she greeted in kind, but her face gave away nothing.

 

Tony watched them with a sort of terrified fascination. He should look away sometime soon before one of them decided to end him, but at the same time he couldn't. He was glad it had nothing to do with him, but also it did, because he was a third of their team. It was like some sort of iced-over Mexican standoff, or maybe it wasn’t even a Mexican Standoff because if there was one thing he’d observed about these two over the weeks, it’s that Gibbs would probably let her win.

 

Jenny felt Gibbs’s eyes on her again and ignored him. With everything between them her emotional state was frayed, and if she was going to have a breakdown, even if it was about him, he wasn’t invited.

 

Gibbs grabbed Jenny’s gear before she could get to it and left Tony to do most of the schlepping.

 

“Shall we?” Tony said in a futile attempt to break the obvious tension, and both silent parties began walking without a word. Whatever Gibbs had done, he must have _really_ pissed her off. He was also quietly impressed. He’d never seen anyone successfully pull a Gibbs on Gibbs before. Jenny was all stone and silence and directing it at the master himself, and, more importantly, getting away with it. He watched them walk in half step with one another, in some strange kind of sync down to their seemingly mutual consternation. It was only more obvious in her because he all but expected it from the boss.

 

Tony gulped as he remembered that favour, he’d done them when he booked the seats: Gibbs and Jenny were seated together, leaving him with Ducky a few rows behind. Maybe best not to mention it.

 

When they entered the building, Jenny pushed her glasses up onto her head as Tony chatted about private jets. “FBI, CIA, DEA, ATF, even NYPD have private jets.”

 

Jenny rolled her eyes and cracked a half smile. “The Navy can get a hold of one when it needs to, it just didn’t think a flight with you on it was worth the money.”

 

Tony pulled a face at her.

 

“Look,” Gibbs said, turning a glare on DiNozzo, having had enough of this conversation, “Thirty-six cents a mile. You wanna drive?”

 

“It’s embarrassing,” Tony protested.

 

“Hey, we’re LEOs,” Gibbs said to the airport security officer as they reached the front of the TSA line

 

“I’m a Capricorn,” he shot back lamely.

 

“LEO, short for Law Enforcement Officer,” Tony said, flashing his badge.

 

“You new at this, Dennis?” Gibbs said, squinting at the TSA officer’s name tag.

 

“First week,” Dennis said, grinning stupidly, “NCIS”, he spelled out, “Never heard of it.”

 

“Now _that’s_ embarrassing.” Jenny said in a conspiratorial stage whisper to the other two.

 

“NCIS...anything like CSI?” Dennis asked, clearly not having learned from this encounter so far.

 

“Only if you’re dyslexic,” Tony quipped, having had enough of this guy.

 

Dennis eventually agreed to let them and their weapons through but protested at their bags.

 

“You’re letting us take weapons aboard, but you want to scan our bags?” Gibbs asked incredulously.

 

“You’ve got permits for the weapons, you don’t for the bags.”

 

“We’re about to miss our flight.” Jenny said trying to impart to Dennis that he needed to hurry the hell up.

 

“Dennis!” Ducky called from just inside departures, “Those bags are mine!”

 

“Well why didn’t you just say so?”

 

Various sounds of irritation came from Gibbs, Tony and Jenny.

 

“Move it, lady and gentlemen, don’t want to miss our flight!” Ducky yelled in their direction. They didn’t need to be told twice.

 

Finally through security, Gibbs stormed off in search of coffee.

 

“He better hurry up, we’ll be boarding in a minute,” Ducky said, shaking his head.

 

“Are we sitting together or all over the place?” Jenny asked

 

“You’re with Gibbs, I’m with Ducky.”

 

“I’ll give you twenty dollars to trade places.”

 

“No way, I’m not spending the entire flight sitting next to the boss.”

 

Jenny turned her large eyes on Ducky.

 

“I’ll trade, my dear. Is everything okay between you two?”

 

“Of course, why wouldn’t it be?” Jenny said mildly.

 

But neither man believed her, and they exchanged a worried glance.

 

“Gibbs!” Tony yelled as the man in question came back into view, just as the announcement for their flight came over the PA”

 

_“Now boarding United Flight 164 to Dallas.”_

 


	6. Chapter 6

They were mere minutes into their flight across the country when Jenny started to regret her choice of seating.

 

“So uh, things must be pretty bad if you’d rather sit next to me than Gibbs,” Tony said, flashing a self-satisfied grin at his travel companion.

 

Jenny gave him a tight smile in return that conveyed exactly what she thought of this conversation, but Tony was unperturbed.

 

“What’s going on between you and him anyway?”

 

“You mean besides the obvious?” Jenny deadpanned, arching her eyebrows as she glared at him in displeasure. He was, she noted, less scared of her than he used to be and was showing no sign of shutting up.

 

“Well see it depends on what you mean by obvious, because right now it’s more obvious that you’re pissed at him than it is that you’re pregnant.”

 

Jenny let out an impatient huff of air, and her eyes took on a steely glint. “Everything’s fine.”

 

“Come on, what did he do?” Tony said, having decided to push his luck for as much mileage as it would give him.

 

Jenny’s only response was to turn and glare out the plane window.

 

“Okay, what didn’t he do?” Tony watched as her posture became even more rigid and figured he had hit a nerve, but that wasn’t about to stop him. He didn’t know how, he didn’t know why, but he found her demeanour and wish to be away from Gibbs kind of concerning. His prickly boss and the boss’s almost equally prickly girlfriend, and yet here he was. “He didn’t dump you, did he?” 

 

Tony was unprepared for the depth of the pain he saw when she turned her now furious eyes on him once more. 

 

“My relationship with Gibbs and what has or hasn’t happened between is is none of your business, so why don't you do us both a favour leave me the hell alone!” Jenny hissed; her expression now downright dangerous.

 

Tony winced and started to ramble, eager to escape the uncomfortable. “Look, I’m sorry, I was just a little concerned, I guess. Gibbs will come around, ‘cause I mean, if there’s anyone he’s gonna come around to anything, it’d have to be you.”

 

Her eyes were just plain sad now, but her lips quirked up into the barest hint of a smile. “Thanks, DiNozzo,” she said softly, holding his gaze meaningfully for a moment in an attempt to try and add weight to her gratitude.

 

Tony watched her as she turned her attention back out the window. As far as he was concerned whatever the boss had done, he should probably try and _un_ -do it. 

He felt bad for the crazy lady; you had to be crazy to have a thing for Gibbs, and it wasn’t just one-sided. He’d seen the way Gibbs looked at her.

Hell, Tony wasn’t even sure he liked Jenny, but when you put her and Gibbs together, they worked, they were _good_ in ways he didn’t fully understand _,_ and hadn’t the man himself mere weeks ago taught him that you shouldn’t waste good? With a baby on the way, it’s not like this shit was exactly optional.

 

He looked again at the back of her very-red head and a decision was made: he was going to find a way to remind Gibbs about rule five, and he was probably going to get head-slapped into next week for his efforts.

 

Conversation done with it was quiet, too quiet for his liking. Tony squinted at Jenny, smiling as a new, and admittedly slightly sideways, topic popped into his head.

 

“Hey, what colour are your eyes?”

 

Jenny shot him a look that was a frown and raised eyebrows all at once. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

 

“Nothing, but they were kinda green before, and now they’ve got the whole grey thing going on.”

 

Jenny smirked at him, as amused as she was bemused at his typically DiNozzo way of defusing a situation. “Depends on the lighting.”

 

“Oh, that’s kinda cool.”

 

A beat of uncomfortable silence passed, and Jenny rummaged in her hand luggage, clearly searching for something.

 

Tony grinned at her and rubbed his hands together. “What are we going to talk about now?”

 

“Nothing,” Jenny said, pursing her lips. “I brought a book.”

 

* * *

 

The moment they set foot on the President’s plane it became clear that whatever ruse Gibbs had been planning to wrangle jurisdiction with wasn’t going to work, as just inside the jet’s entrance they found the County Coroner duking it out with none other than Fornell over just whose jurisdiction this mess fell under.

 

 _“This_ is who you’ve been waiting for?” Fornell exclaimed, incredulous. “Who called NCIS?”

 

“Well y’know, Tobias, that _is_ the body of a naval officer over there.” Gibbs shot back wryly.

 

“Funny, Jethro. That fact is negated by this being Air Force One, as you well know.”

 

The small, brunette, presumably Secret Service agent who had been watching the whole exchange from the nearby seat rolled her eyes dramatically as she stood up. “It’s not Air Force One, Agent Fornell. When the President left on the backup plane, it became Air Force One. This is now alpha foxtrot 29000.”

 

“Don’t get into this pissing contest, Agent Todd,” Fornell said, pressing his mouth into an irritated line.

 

Fornell turned his attention back to Gibbs and his team and paused when he saw Jenny, narrowing his eyes.

 

“Agent Shepard, I thought you were off to the Middle East.”

 

“Change of plans,” she retorted icily.

 

“Really, because I heard that was one hell of a promotion.”

 

Jenny tilted her head down in answer and clenched her jaw: A reminder of the opportunity she had just passed on was the last thing she needed. She grabbed a bag of gear from Tony and stormed off in the direction of the body on the floor behind them.

 

“Where are you going?” Fornell demanded.

 

“Crime scene photos.” She hissed as she passed him, and he didn’t dare challenge her.

 

“What was that all about?” Fornell asked Gibbs.

 

Gibbs shrugged and instead of answering and changed the subject. “How is Diane anyway?”

 

Fornell grimaced, not quite sure what he was in for. “We’re having a baby.”

 

Gibbs let out a bark of laughter which caught Fornell off guard.

 

“What? I expected you to be more upset.

 

Gibbs, still grinning, shook his head and jabbed his thumb in the direction of Jenny. “Nah, so’s she.”

 

Fornell frowned as he tried to figure out if Gibbs really meant what he’d just implied. “Well then, how come she’s back on your team? Oh _Jethro,_ you didn’t…”

 

Gibbs’s mouth twitched into a grin of confirmation.

 

“You did! Wait ‘til Diane hears about this one.”

 

“Wait until Diane hears about what?” Jenny snapped, having appeared silently behind Fornell.

 

He had the decency to wince as he wondered whether she’d learned that off Gibbs or if she was just that good at sneaking all on her own. “Well we were just talking about your--”

 

But he was interrupted by Agent Todd. “I’m sorry, is anyone going to maybe _do their jobs?_ One minute you’re arguing about who’s got jurisdiction, then you’re all having one great big interagency gossip session. We need to find out what happened here, the president’s life is at stake.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry, who are you?” Tony said sarcastically, not liking how they were being spoken to.

 

“Agent Kate Todd, Secret Service.” She snapped, flashing her ID in his face.

 

“Oh look, she’s like you.” Tony said grinning smugly at Jenny.

 

“Funny,” she snarked back, raising both eyebrows as she did.

 

“The FBI has jurisdiction over everything on this plane.” Fornell interjected, ignoring their exchange.

 

Gibbs paid no attention to him either, instead turning to the Secret Service Agent. “So, what actually happened here?”

 

“When the Commander returned from lunch, he had an equilibrium problem, and his grip was too weak to hold his briefcase.”

 

Ducky looked at her with interest. “Did it happen gradually or was the onset sudden?”

 

“Sudden. He started to convulse and then he collapsed; the president’s physician thought it looked like a stroke.”

 

“Seems kind of young for a stroke,” Jenny said, catching Gibbs’s eye more out of habit than anything else, a move that halted both of them for a split second before they remembered the task at hand.

 

A hint of a smile graced Jenny’s lips as she saw the trace of an idea flash cross Gibbs’s face.

 

_Here we go._

 

“Hey Fornell,” he said, “You can have the body if you sign the release forms.”

 

“Well why didn’t you say that before.”

 

Ducky caught Gibbs’s eye and then turned to the Coroner. “You said the forms were in your car, didn’t you Elmo?”

 

“Er, yes, that’s right.”

 

“Well let’s go then.” Fornell scrutinised the carefully composed faces of the NCIS team in front of him, sensing trickery in the air. “You’re not about to take off on me, are you Gibbs?”

 

“Would I do that?”

 

“I don’t know, would you?”

 

“Guess you’re going to have to find out.”

 

Fornell cast one last suspiciously resigned look at Gibbs before following the coroner off the plane.

 

“DiNozzo,” Gibbs called out to his junior agent.

 

“Yeah Boss?”

 

“Go show the pilot your credentials and get us the hell out of here.”

 

Tony headed for the front of the plane before he noticed Jenny smirking at him and pointed to the staircase beside her. “Cockpit’s up there.”

 

“I knew _that.”_

 

“They won’t take off without my permission!” Kate called after him, wishing for the umpteenth time that NCIS would just disappear.

 

“Well go give it to them,” Gibbs drawled, looking at her like she should know better.

 

“Why should I, what’s in it for me?” she challenged, equal parts exasperated and curious about what this brazen asshole could possibly be bringing to the table.

 

“Joint investigation, I lead.”

 

“Why are you in charge?”

 

“I do believe that’s a dead naval officer.” Gibbs deadpanned, refusing to give any ground.

 

“Who died on Air Force One after having lunch with the President.”

 

“DiNozzo, escort Agent Todd off the plane,” Gibbs said, looking past Kate at the younger agent.

 

“How’s that going to work, you can’t take off without me!”

 

“Hey Jen,” Gibbs said, turning to the redhead standing nearby taking photos of the scene.

 

“Mm?”

 

“How are you at hijacking planes?”

 

“Well I haven’t done it recently but I’m sure I could think of something,” she said, smiling indulgently.

 

Gibbs smirked at her before turning to locate his other team member. “Tony!” 

 

Kate gritted her teeth. She was getting nowhere here, and as loathe as she was to admit it, part of her wanted to see what this guy would do next. “Wait, fine! Your team, but only because I don’t want to delay us more by having to _shoot_ you,” she hissed.

 

“Hey,Tony, go shut that door will you?” Gibbs said with a self-satisfied smirk. 

 

Kate gave him a look that could kill before heading for the stairs to give the Pilot the all clear for take-off.

 

Gibbs looked up and located Jenny standing a short distance away. “Better sit down, Jen,” he said, stating the obvious they both knew.

 

“And why’s that?”

 

“Plane’s about to take off.”

 

“Chauvinist,” she retorted, narrowing her eyes at him, though her voice held no venom. 

 

Gibbs smirked before sitting down in the seat next to her. “We need to talk,” he told her seriously.

 

“What, now?” Jenny said, shooting him a look of disbelief.

 

Gibbs shook his head. “Later.”

 

“You actually gonna talk this time?” Jenny asked, meeting his eyes in a challenge.

 

Gibbs fought the urge to deflect and avoid committing to a certainty; she wasn’t messing around, and there weren’t many chances left. “Yeah.”

 

She searched his eyes guardedly but was unable to glean much.

 

Kate’s eyes were drawn to their pair as she came back down the stairs; they were cleared for take-off. She wondered if any of what Gibbs and the FBI agent were talking about was true and how that even happened, though she supposed it wasn’t any different from the fact that she was sleeping with Major Tim Kerry, and fraternising with a colleague was a Secret Service no-no - something she would almost certainly be fired for if she was discovered.

She watched with interest as Gibbs and his female agent stared intently at one another; whatever had happened there, there was something going on between those two.

She sat down next to Agent DiNozzo who was in the middle of buckling himself in, but his attention was also on the other pair, and he was grinning at them.

 

Gibbs shot him a questioning look “What, DiNozzo?”

 

“Well y’know boss, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about rule five.”

 

“And why’s that, DiNozzo?”

 

“Well just, y’know--” Tony gave up on words and instead looked pointedly between Jenny and Gibbs and then back again, grinning, and unafraid.

 

Gibbs smirked in spite of himself. “You finished?”

 

“Yup, that’s about all I’ve got to say.”

 

“Good,” said Gibbs.

 

Jenny’s head was bowed but the tops of her cheeks raised upwards in a smile.

 

Kate frowned in confusion, wondering whether this was some strange NCIS rulebook thing and wondered what it had to do with the relationship between Shepard and Gibbs. She turned to Tony. “What’s rule five?”

 

“Well, Katie--”

 

Kate narrowed her eyes. “That’s Agent Todd to you, Special Agent DiNozzo.”

 

“--rule five is ‘you don’t waste good’.”  
  



	7. Chapter 7

Kate watched in horror as Ducky pierced the body’s abdomen with the liver probe and slid it into place.

“You’re not starting the autopsy here, are you?” she said, her face awash with disgust at the idea, causing Tony and Jenny to share an amused smirk from across the crime scene.

“Heavens no,” said Ducky, looking up at her in surprise. “Just taking his liver temperature in order to determine time of death.”

“The president’s physician declared him at 2032 Zulu.” Kate said, checking her PDA with the air of someone used to being right.

“Ah, but it never hurts to double check,” Ducky said with a wry smile.

“Excuse me,” said Tony importantly as he moved past Kate with a laser and a sketchpad in hand, “You’ll need to stand clear so I can take measurements for my crime scene sketches.”

“Why? She took photos.”

“She has a name.” Jenny said coolly, feeling somewhat irrationally annoyed by the other woman. On one hand she empathised with her; she was a woman in a man’s world and trying her damndest to do her job and duty, and on the other her own patience was a finite resource, and she wished to hell that she’d just get out of the way and let them get on with it.

“Sorry,” Kate said quickly, clearly taken aback.

Tony grabbed a magazine from the nearby seat and dangled it in front of Kate. “Can you tell me her measurements?” he asked, grinning.

“What? You’re disgusting.”

“He is,” Jenny concurred evenly, looking up from her notepad, “but he also has a point.”

Tony grinned and went back to bothering Kate. “Can you tell me if she’s five foot four and a 34C or 5 foot 7 and a 36D?”

Kate sputtered, unsure whether to be outraged or not, and Tony continued, “The point is you can’t, not from a photo. Which is why we do sketches and take measurements.”

Kate walked back over to the seating area and pointedly away from Tony, and Jenny came to look over his shoulder. “36D?” she asked wryly, smirking at him. "That’s optimistic.”

Tony pulled a face at her in response.

Ducky pulled the probe from the corpse and read the gauge. “I got 1915 Zulu.”

“Well then you miscalculated.” Kate hit back promptly.

“Miscalculated what?” Gibbs asked, appearing behind them.

“Ah, Jethro, There’s a discrepancy between my time of death and that of the president’s physician.”

Gibbs mulled this over, but his face gave away nothing.

“Enough sketches, Tony, Agent Todd’s going to give you a floor plan.”

“No, I’m not.” She replied, her mouth in a taut line.

Tony watched as Gibbs started up the hall and ‘Agent Todd’ stalked off behind him. Jenny raised an eyebrow.

Tony glanced at her and grinned. “You don’t like her, do you.”

  
  


“I don’t know her.” Jenny said neutrally, still going about her business.

“Yet there are all these teensy little signals coming from you that say you’re not a fan.”

Jenny sighed and reluctantly gave him her full attention, pinning him with her gaze. “Okay, DiNozzo, do I like her more or less than you?”

“Well I don’t--wait, how much do you like me?”

“How much does she like who?” Gibbs asked, returning sooner than expected.

“Just asking what she thought of the dead body, boss.”

Gibbs shot Tony a penetrating glare but said nothing.

“Jethro,” Ducky said, rising from his position by the body, “I believe I know why the discrepancy with commander Trapp’s time of death. Now since the Commander had lunch with the president, I’m sure his physician rushed to evaluate his condition; he also called the Commander’s time of death.”

“That’s right,” Kate said, also arriving, “Once he was sure the president wasn’t in any medical danger, he returned. He was gone for almost an hour. 

“I’m sure a fully autopsy will show that Commander Trapp expired almost immediately.” Ducky Said.

“I owe you an apology, doctor.”

“It’s really not a problem. I’m just relieved we straightened it out; it’s inconsistencies like these that start conspiracy theories.”

Gibbs turned to Kate and grinned. “Rule number three: Don’t believe what you’re told, double check.”

“Should I be writing these down or crocheting them on a pillow?” Kate snarked, unimpressed.

“Nope. Just something to keep in mind.” Gibbs said, smirking. He paused and turned to his team.

“Jenny, DiNozzo,” He said. gesturing to them, “Start bagging and tagging,” he said pointing in the direction of the private rooms where the President and the commander had shared lunch.

“On it Boss.” Tony said, and headed on through. Jenny caught Gibbs’s eye for a meaningful moment before she did the same. 

Kate looked between Gibbs and Jenny’s retreating form. “NCIS doesn’t have rules against that?”

Gibbs raised his eyebrows at her but said nothing, and Kate gave up.

“Never mind. I’ve got to go and talk to my boss.”

Gibbs smirked and shook his head as she walked away. She was uptight but he had to admit, she had balls.

 

* * *

“Awesome, the President’s desk!” Tony said, his eyes lighting up as they entered the room.

Jenny laughed. “What are you, twelve?”

Tony was unperturbed. “Come on, you gotta admit, seeing it in real life is pretty cool. Take my picture, pretty please?”

Jenny rolled her eyes at him, but taking his picture was more appealing than scraping congealed Texas barbecue into evidence bags so she acquiesced. The cloyingly sweet smell alone was making her stomach want to crawl out of the nearest exit. “Fine.”

Tony passed her the camera before sitting down in the president’s chair. He started with a mock serious pose with his elbows resting on the desk and Jenny snapped a photo. She smirked Burley and Decker could only dream of being this ridiculous. Neither of her old teammates had had the guts to be that ridiculous with Gibbs lurking just around the corner, and speaking of Burley, she could only hope that wherever he was stationed right now that it was far, far away, because once he found out she was pregnant, especially by Gibbs, he would never let her live it down.

“You want me to take one of you?” Tony offered.

“No, I’ll pass.”

Tony tried out a few more poses with Jenny snapping each one.

Gibbs walked in just as Tony kicked his feet onto the desk and rolled his eyes, but Jenny didn’t miss the ghost of a smirk on his face.

Nor did she miss the pure, unadulterated outrage Agent Todd was wearing on hers. 

“Oh no,” Kate started, “I draw the line at him sitting in the President’s chair.”

“He’s not using it.” Tony retorted, daring her to do something.

Kate shot him a filthy look.

Gibbs ignored them. “Enough with the photos. What happened to bagging and tagging?”

“We were just waiting for you, boss,” Tony lied in a way that managed to be both smooth and unconvincing.

Gibbs glared at him.

“Bagging and tagging what?” Kate asked.

“We’ll start with everything.” Gibbs said. “President was sitting there?”

“Pretty good bet,” Kate snapped, wholly unimpressed. “Seeing as it  _ is _ his desk.”

Jenny snapped on a pair of gloves and began sliding each plate into bags, her stomach lurching as she went. Barbecue was, it seemed, now firmly on the ‘no’ list.

Her reticence did not escape Gibbs’s notice. “You okay, Jen?”

“Uh, boss.” Tony pointed to a very pale Kate. she retched once, clamped her hand over her mouth and ran from the room. Gibbs grabbed an evidence bag and chased after her.

At that, Jenny promptly lost all remaining control over her revulsion and threw up all over the desk.

Tony yelped and leapt backwards and out of the way. “Ugh, Jesus! Wait until the Secret Service chick finds out you ralphed on the President’s desk.”

“Shut up, DiNozzo,” Jenny coughed before excusing herself to the adjoining bathroom, not bothering to close the door.

Gibbs returned with a bag of vomit in his hand.

“You think she’s got whatever killed the Commander?” Tony asked, referring to the bag.

“Don’t know. What the hell happened?” Gibbs asked, noticing the stomach contents now also splattered across the desk.

“I have no idea. One minute, Agent Todd looked like she was gonna barf, the next Jenny is losing it all over the desk.”

Gibbs tensed visibly as an uncomfortable knot settled in the pit of his stomach. He’d been so busy worrying about the physical dangers of a crime scene that he hadn’t stopped to consider that this one might expose her to other kinds of dangers. Maybe they should all suit up, but it hadn’t seemed like that sort of crime scene, and it still didn’t, but it didn’t make him feel any better. “Where is she now?”

“In here.” Jenny called balefully from bathroom.

Gibbs and Tony traded worried glances, both thinking the same thing.

Gibbs handed the offending bag to a grimacing Tony. “Put that with the evidence, and collect the rest of it.”

“On it, boss.” Tony said, though he’d very much rather not be. Good old NCIS: no private jet, and all the barf you could carry.

Gibbs strode into the bathroom and discovered Jenny at the sink dabbing her mouth with a paper towel. “What happened?” He asked, his face etched with concern.

“Morning sickness”, she said, throwing the towel into the trash can. “The smell of the president’s lunch was already getting to me, then Agent Todd throwing up was apparently a bit too much.” Jenny studied the lines of his face. “You’re worried.”

“Yeah, well. There’s a dead guy out there who died of unknown causes, then Agent Todd takes ill, and now you get sick all of a sudden where the dead guy had lunch.”

“I’m fine, Jethro. I have no other symptoms.”

“I want Ducky to check you out, make sure you’re okay.” His eyes raked hers as he tried to gauge her level of resistance. “Please?” He asked, resting his hand gently on the back of her neck.

Jenny nodded and tried to control her breathing. His touch was distracting, and she craved it desperately, but now was not the time or place.

Gibbs moved his hand to the small of her back and guided her out of the bathroom and past DiNozzo. “Once you’re done there, DiNozzo, onto plan B.”

Tony visibly gulped.“Sure.”

“What’s plan B?” Jenny asked as they entered the corridor.

“He goes for a ride in a body bag while we sneak the Commander out the back.”

“Of course he does.”

“Jennifer, Jethro, what can I do for you?” Ducky asked upon noticing their arrival. He looked between the two taking in Gibbs’s apparent agitation and Jenny’s quiet tolerance for it. They were reminding him very much of how they’d been in France, so he could only hope that meant that things had improved between them.

“I just threw up, and Gibbs needs you to tell him I’m fine so I can get back to work.” Jenny stated with only a hint of irony.

Gibbs rolled his eyes and came as close as he ever did to huffing. “I need you to make sure she doesn’t have whatever Agent Todd has, and if she does that it’s got nothing to do with what happened to the Commander.”

“Well, the good news is Agent Todd appears to have nothing more than a stomach virus, though of course I won’t know for sure until we return.”

“No, it is, I know it is.” Kate said firmly.

“What makes you so sure?” Ducky asked, observing her curiously.

“It’s the same symptoms Major Kerry had, which is why Commander Trapp was carrying the football to begin with.”

“Ah,” said Ducky, “You and he worked together recently?”

“No.”

“Then how did you?...Oh, I see.” Ducky said as he put two and two together.

Gibbs peered at Kate intently and she met his gaze head on. “You going to lecture me about sleeping with people I work with?”

“Nope.”

Jenny smirked.

“No,” Ducky said, smiling broadly. “Jethro here has what one might call ‘firsthand experience’ in that department.”

Gibbs glared at him, while Jenny rolled her eyes.

Ducky grinned widely once more before sobering as he remembered the task at hand. “Now, Jennifer, any other symptoms?”

“Other than more weird food aversions and being triggered by other people throwing up? No.”

“Yes, well, it’s not uncommon for pregnant women to vomit at the sight of others doing so. In fact, the theory goes that it’s a protective measure, as the spontaneous expulsion of the stomach contents of the mother to be would ensure that any particles inhaled from the sickness of the other person would be flushed from her system. Just let me take your temperature.”

Kate squinted at the thermometer as an unpleasant thought struck her. “You don’t use that on dead bodies, do you?”

“Rarely. I prefer the liver probe. It’s clean, I disinfected it a moment ago after using it on you my dear.”

Jenny paled as Ducky placed the thermometer under her tongue. She’d come a long way since her first time in autopsy, but the thought of where this thing had been was something she couldn’t afford to dwell on.

 

Ducky removed the thermometer from Jenny’s mouth and checked the temperature. “Everything does appear to be normal. I’d say that it was indeed just another case of pregnancy induced emesis.”

Gibbs relaxed visibly. “I just gotta go and tell DiNozzo to go to plan B,” he said, kissing Jenny on the forehead.

Her cheeks flushed at the unexpected contact and Kate made eye contact and shot her a knowing grin. There was something satisfying about watching them interact, especially when Gibbs was like he was, and Kate was fascinated.

“Jethro, what exactly is ‘plan B’?” Ducky asked.

“DiNozzo gets to go for a ride in a body bag.” Gibbs said, smirking as he walked away.

Jenny laughed, and Kate’s mouth hung open as she processed what she’d just heard. “He’s enjoying this,” she stated, her words tinged with incredulity.

“Oh yes,” Ducky said with a smile, “Very much.”

 


	8. Chapter 8

Gibbs’s plan went off without a hitch, with Fornell and his sidekick seemingly none the wiser as they drove off with DiNozzo in the back of their FBI truck. Tobias would kick his ass later, and Gibbs didn’t care.

 

He laughed at the thought. Truthfully, he had just wanted to see if he could get DiNozzo to actually do it, and the fact that he had quietly amused Gibbs to no end. The fact that he got away with the body because of it was just icing on the cake.

 

He paused at the top of the gangway and watched as Jenny disembarked from the plane with bags of gear slung over her shoulders and stifled a yawn into her elbow for what seemed like the fifth time in as many minutes.

It was after midnight, and she looked like hell, though he wasn't about to tell her that. He felt a stab of guilt for not looking after her properly. She was clearly exhausted, and the fact that she had come so close to a potential contaminant on the plane scared him. He couldn’t let it happen again; he _wouldn’t_ let it happen again, but he’d deal with that later.

 

 

Gibbs noticed Kate watching him with a glint in her eye.

 

“It’s kind of cute, you know,” she said, having got his attention.

 

 

“What is?” Gibbs asked indignantly.

 

 

“You obviously care about her, a lot. You know, a hard-ass like you.” She said and laughed.

 

 

Gibbs glared at her. She was _teasing_ him, and he felt irrationally annoyed at being called cute anything, especially by her, so he changed the subject.

 

“Get some of your guys to the loading bay, Ducky needs help with the body.”

 

“Why, you got somewhere else to be?” Kate needled, grinning, though she could predict who and what was on his mind.

 

Gibbs gave her a hard stare and started down the steps to the tarmac.

 

“That’s sweet!” Kate shot at his retreating back.

 

Gibbs jogged to catch up with Jenny who was now about halfway to the terminal and she shot him a questioning look as he fell into step beside her.

 

“I’m taking you home.” He said simply.

 

“Since when?”

 

“Since now. You’re exhausted, Jen.”

 

Jenny looked like she wanted to argue but was prevented by another yawn, and Gibbs took this as an opportunity to relieve her of the gear she was carrying.

 

“Chauvinist,” she groused.

 

Gibbs shrugged, not unfamiliar with the barb. “Well y’know, women and children first.” He said, smirking.

 

But instead of the scoff or eye-roll he had expected, the response from Jenny was silence. Her behaviour, which had warmed somewhat on the plane, had cooled once more.

 

He gazed evenly at the side of her head. “What’s wrong, Jen?”

 

“We need to talk,” she deadpanned, forcing him to acknowledge what was weighing heavily on her mind, and all that hinged upon it.

 

“Jenny,” he said, causing her to look at him. “It’ll be okay,” he said, in an attempt to put her at ease.

 

“I hope so,” she responded simply, lightly. But in truth, it sounded a lot like a warning.

 

 

 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

 

Jenny was so quiet in the car that for a while Gibbs wondered if she had fallen asleep, but there was nothing relaxed about her posture.

 

He slowed the car as they neared the familiar row of townhouses and spared her a glance before pulling into a space across from her house, and when he killed the engine it only served to amplify the silence between them.

 

After a beat Jenny turned her gaze on him in what he recognised as a challenge, with her chin angled down and her eyes hard.

 

Gibbs looked at his hands a moment as he worked on summoning the right words. “I’m sorry, Jen. I screwed up,” he said, looking at her hesitantly. “I never meant to make you feel like your feelings weren’t important, or that you didn’t matter.”

 

Her eyes had gone from hard to wide, and she took in a sharp breath.

 

He took this as his cue to continue. “When you told me that in Paris I panicked. You weren’t the only one, but I couldn’t say it – felt like I was betraying them.”

 

A wave of nausea struck Jenny as she was hit, not with anger, but fear, because here was the moment of truth, and he was preparing to let her down.

 

“I’m sorry about your dad, too.”

 

At this she took a shuddering breath and forced herself not to look away. She had one final question, and the answer was everything. “What about now, are you still betraying them?” she asked, her voice thick with emotion.

 

Gibbs shrugged. “Maybe, but it doesn’t matter. If I do nothing, then I’m betraying you.”

 

At his admission, the tears that may have threatened before flowed freely down Jenny’s face, as the enormity of what they’d become to one another was acknowledge out loud.

 

Gibbs reached up to caress her face with a work worn hand and brushed the wetness on her cheek with his thumb.

 

Jenny laughed a watery laugh. "I thought you were about to tell me to take a hike.

 

"Nah. You're too important for that. Both of you," He added meaningfully and reached for her hand.

 

The air stilled as they became physically aware of one another.

 

"Jethro?" Jenny said, breaking the tension before it killed her.

 

"Mm?"

 

"Kiss me."

 

Gibbs wasted no time and swiftly moved in to capture her lips with his own, and Jenny’s hand found its way to the back of his neck, playing with the hair it found there. Their reunion was intense but was soon slowed down by the weight of the day’s fatigue.

 

The temptation to kiss her again was great, but she was exhausted, and Jenny looked at him as though she could read his mind and her bleary eyes sparkled with mirth.

 

“Come on, time for bed,” Gibbs said, which caused Jenny to raise her eyebrows at him.

 

“What?” Gibbs challenged playfully with mock indignance. “You need sleep.”

 

“So do you.” Jenny countered and pursed her lips into a smile.

 

“Nah, I got coffee.”

 

“Yeah, ‘cause that’s always the best option,” she deadpanned. “Besides, there’s food.”

 

“You don’t cook.”

 

“No, I offered to pay Noemi extra if she made meals as well.”

 

Gibbs snorted. “You have a _housekeeper_.”

 

“Well you see I have this mean boss who makes me work all the time…”

 

Gibbs rolled his eyes at her. Ideally, he’d wait until the case was over to fully throw himself back in with her, but sleep was good, and family was important _and that’s what she was now._ Somewhere absently in his mind it registered that he should probably tell his dad what was going on, but that was for another time. The case could wait a few hours. He popped the trunk and grabbed his overnight bag before following Jenny, who hadn’t waited for his answer.

 

He grinned.

 

 

 

 

Jenny tossed her keys on the sideboard as she entered the house, and Gibbs closed the door behind them. The house was silent except for the old clock in the corner ticking away loudly.

She placed her bag on the floor in the corner. “Bedroom’s on the second landing and then to your left,” she called to him as he headed for the stairs.

“I know.”

“How? You’ve never been in it.”

“No, but I’ve called you when you have.” He replied with a smirk. There’d been a few times before Europe when he’d needed her to come to work, fast, and he’d quickly learned by calling her while he was sitting outside that her bedroom was at the top of the front of the house, and watching her come to the window to see whether he was indeed where he said he was had amused him to no end.

 

Jenny smiled to herself and shook her head as she watched him ascend, his curiosity obvious as he disappeared from view.

Gibbs slowed as he reached the third floor. He’d counted what looked like two bedrooms on the last landing, and there were another two up here. He made his way towards the front of the house to the one he knew was Jenny’s and found himself in a decent sized room with its own bathroom, and the bay window that he’d seen her standing in many times before. It was full of the same kind of old furniture as the rest of the house, but with a decidedly more feminine touch. He dropped his bad unceremoniously onto the expensive looking covers on her bed where it landed with a satisfying bounce and disturbed a few of the many pillows.

Gibbs smirked. _Good mattress._  

The room smelled a lot like her, which made sense given how much time she spent in it. He surveyed the room once more, noting the dressing table in the corner and what looked like work clothes piled over the back of a chair.

“Having fun?” Jenny asked wryly, appearing in the doorway.

“Yup,” Gibbs replied wearing a grin that wouldn’t look out of place on DiNozzo’s face. 

She moved past him and started pulling clothes out of the nearby bureau.

It all felt ridiculously domestic in a way that similar actions as they’d travelled together had not.

She gathered her things and took them into the bathroom to get changed. She did not, Gibbs noted, close the door.

 

Jenny winced as she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror; the dark circles she found there were visible even through what was left of her makeup, and there was no hiding the puffiness that had also taken up residence there.

 

She then wiped her face clean and paused to assess the full extent of the damage. She looked like hell. Every ounce of exhaustion she felt was written plainly on her face. This case had been the biggest they had worked since her return, and it was becoming abundantly clear that she could no longer just push through like she always had.

 

She put on her pyjamas, noting with some irritation that the elastic waistband was starting to feel tight across her abdomen, which meant that she was going to have to buy a new set soon unless she planned on sleeping naked, and then brushed her teeth.

When she emerged from the bathroom, she found Gibbs already in her bed reclining onto a pile of her many pillows with his arms folded behind his head. Jenny smiled at the sight and folded back the covers so that she could slide in beside him.

“Move over,” she said nudging him playfully, but no sooner had she pulled the covers back over herself he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

Jenny laid her head on his shoulder and muffled a yawn into it, and Gibbs kissed her on the forehead.

 

“Sleep,” he murmured into her hair, watching in amusement as she frowned with her eyes still closed from the yawn. “It’s less appealing if you tell me what to do.” She stated thickly, never opening them, and it wasn’t long before she obliged.

 

Gibbs studied her face as she slept and was caught off guard by a wave of affection towards her. Really, he shouldn’t be, his feelings weren’t in question, but he was so used to allowing himself to feel it in the first place.

He took a moment to savour the warm weight of her in his arms and then froze as it hit him like a tonne of bricks that he could distinctly feel the firm roundness of her belly pressing into him. It was small, but it was definitely there.

 

He wanted to reach out and touch it but resisted in case he woke her.

 

He tried to remember if this had happened with Shannon was pregnant but was his with a fresh wave of guilt when he realised, he couldn’t remember. In his mind he saw vividly standing and trying to smile as tears rolled down her face. He was being deployed, and she was saying goodbye. She’d been eleven weeks pregnant, and he hadn’t seen her again until a few months after Kelly was born.

 

A familiar guilt gnawed at him, but it was with a strange sort of relief that he realised that his feelings for Jenny and the baby were sitting alongside his love for Shannon and Kelly just fine, and it was with that thought that he surrendered to sleep.

 

 

 

 

When Gibbs awoke a few hours later Jenny was still curled into his side, breathing softly against his neck, and the unfamiliar shadows of her room were playing on the ceiling. He lifted his head to get a better look at the glowing numbers of the clock on the bedside table before beginning to slowly disentangle himself from her sleeping form.

 

His feet reached the carpet the same time as her voice reached his ears. “What time is it?” She asked, her voice made all the huskier by sleep.

 

“0600; go back to sleep.”

 

“I live close, but not that close,” she scoffed softly. Work started in an hour, and if she was going to be ready, she had to get up.

 

“Meeting with the FBI isn’t ‘til 0900, don’t need you ‘til then.” He said and leaned over to kiss her on the lips. He was sorely tempted to tell her to take the day but letting her come in late would already raise a few eyebrows. “Also need to talk about your workload,” he added, smoothing her hair, which elicited little more than a bleary nod. She sank back down into the pillows and closed her eyes, which only affirmed his decision.

 

“I’ll have DiNozzo come get you at 8.30.” Gibbs said, and was satisfied to see her wrinkle her nose and regard him through slitted eyes.

 

 

She could drive herself and they both knew it.

 

“See you in a couple of hours.” He said softly and kissed her one last time and began to get ready for work.

 


	9. Chapter 9

Tony was squinting blearily at his computer screen when Gibbs walked in carrying a customary cup of coffee.  He looked around to see if Jenny would also materialise, but she wasn’t there.

His eyes flicked to the time in the bottom right corner and back to Gibbs. “She okay?” He asked, not bothering to specify which ‘she’ he was referring to.

“Yeah, Shepard will be in later.” Gibbs said as he went and put his coffee on his desk.

Tony nodded absently and went back to staring at his screen and marvelled somewhat vaguely at the fact that he wasn’t even the least bit mad at Gibbs’s blatantly preferential treatment. He’d never been given a sleep-in and never expected to, but it didn’t matter. He respected Gibbs, and he felt oddly protective of Jenny, which was strange in and of itself when he thought about it.

Gibbs was still staring at him expectantly, waiting to see whether Tony was going to update him on the case, but the silence stuck. “You find anything, Di-No-zzo?” Gibbs asked, drawing out the syllables of his name.

“Not a whole lot. We got more organics than Whole Foods, and enough vitamins to start some kind of hippy drug store - Abby’s running tests on all of them now. I figure if he was poisoned it was probably in one of those bottles; the guy was a total health freak.”

Gibbs was inscrutable as he processed this, and his expression didn’t change as he moved onto checking out Tony’s dishevelled appearance. “Did you get any sleep?”

Tony looked up and frowned at the unexpected question. “Uhh, yeah, a little. Abby has some sort of futon down in her lab; it’s surprisingly good.”

Gibbs allowed himself a little smile. “Go take a shower and grab something to eat: Meet me back here at 0830.”

“Sure, boss.” Tony said before attempting to surreptitiously sniff his shirt for anything that might have caused Gibbs to tell him to go wash but detected nothing.

Gibbs smirked at his confusion and watched him gather his things and leave. DiNozzo had pulled more than his weight in the last twenty-four hours and he owed him at least the time to eat breakfast.

He sat himself down at his desk and pondered their case. None of it made sense, but they had nothing, and the implications if they got it wrong were huge. They had to be missing something, and it was going to bother him until he figured out what it was.

 

* * *

 

Jenny ignored the furtive glances and hushed whispers she was attracting as she entered the building. Word of her ‘condition’ was getting around, and the fact that she was beginning to look the part wasn’t helping matters.

 She stabbed the elevator call button with her finger and crossed her arms as she waited, paying little attention as Fornell appeared beside her and pressed the button again himself.

“Agent Shepard,” he greeted, nodding in her direction.

“Agent Fornell,” she replied and kept her face carefully neutral as she waited for the other shoe to drop, because it was Fornell and it always did.

 “Do all of Gibbs’s agents start this late, or just ones he’s screwing?”

“How is Diane?” she retorted smartly.

Fornell grimaced; his relationship with Jenny had always been uneasy. He’d worked with Gibbs’s team a few times in the past but had so far not settled into any easy kind of rapport. Of course, it hadn’t helped that when they’d met, he’d asked loudly if Gibbs was shopping for his next ex-wife. Gibbs was fine, he could deal with Gibbs; they showed no respect and held no grudges, but Shepard was something else. 

Jenny smiled at him in a way that made him uneasy. “Did you know, she once hit Gibbs over the head with a golf club? There was blood everywhere.”

She watched with great satisfaction as Fornell swallowed hard, and any further retort he might have had was cut short by the arrival of Kate.

 

 “Good morning,” she said, looking between Jenny and Fornell and whatever she’d just interrupted. 

 

“Agent Todd,” Fornell said, nodding with air of mock sageness, while Jenny merely smiled politely.

 An awkward silence settled over them that was broken when the elevator finally arrived.

 

“So, Diane’s your wife?” Kate asked and turned to smile toothily at Fornell. These people apparently had no concept of separating business and pleasure and she was intrigued.

 

“Yes, she is,” he replied with no small amount of chagrin.

 

Jenny’s face lit up with incredulity. “Ha, since when? I presume someone had a shotgun.”

 

“Since we’re having a baby; maybe you and Gibbs should try it.”

 

“Well good luck,” said Jenny, “you’re going to need it.”

 

A stunned Kate looked from Fornell to Jenny “You know his wife then?”

 

“She’s Gibbs’s ex-wife,” Jenny said, smiling sweetly at Fornell.

 

“Oh, right,” Kate said, as if it made perfect sense, “so that explains the golf club. Kate smiled at her and kept her tone deliberately light. “How long have you worked with Gibbs?”

 

Jenny narrowed her eyes, wary at this new line of interrogation. “Four years.”

 

Fornell laughed humourlessly. “Agent Shepard here was his junior agent; his trainee.”

 

“I’m his partner.” Jenny said firmly.

 

“And NCIS are okay with this?” Kate asked, getting to the point that had baffled her the most since the beginning. She’d dated colleagues before, hell, she was doing so right now on the down-low, but it was most definitely against the rules.

 

“Well, they weren’t exactly thrilled, but it’s not against policy and in case you’re wondering, no, it wasn’t planned.” Jenny added dryly.

 

“I, uh, wasn’t going to ask.” Kate said, feeling suitably chastised.

 

Fornell chuckled softly behind them, and the uncomfortable silence settled back over them until the elevator chimed and the doors opened once more.

 

 “After you, ladies,” he said and stretched his arm out towards the exit.

 

* * *

 

Gibbs looked up as the trio entered the squad room. His eyes settled on Jenny, who gave a barely perceptible nod.

 

“Morning, Jethro.” Fornell said, greeting his counterpart. Not sure how you pulled off that whole body-snatch routine, but my boss was so pissed he was almost impressed.”

 

“Well that’s easy, Tobias.” Gibbs retorted, grinning widely. “Got balls.”

 

Fornell laughed, while Kate gave a long-suffering sigh and rolled her eyes. “Was it worth it?” She asked, looking pointedly at Gibbs.

 

He smirked and shrugged. “Gotta ask Abby.”

 

“And she is?”

 

“Forensics.”

 

“Right.” Kate said, her brow furrowing in confusion as she laid eyes on the woman in question, who was tottering towards them wearing dark makeup and ludicrous black platform boots, and Ducky was close behind her.

Abby was clearly amused. “What? She said, looking Kate dead in the eye, “Never seen a goth in a lab coat before?”

 

“No, I haven’t.” She said, but by this point Kate was barely able to believe that any of these people worked for the government.

 

“What have you got, Abby?” Gibbs asked

 

“Well…” Abby began with a dramatic flourish before launching into a full report on her findings.

 

Jenny half listened to their findings and glanced at Tony who was slumped in his chair; her gaze then settled on the cup of coffee over on Gibbs’s desk, at which point she was momentarily distracted by the fact that she found the idea of drinking it quite appealing.

Fornell was frowning as he listened to what Abby was telling them. “So, what you’re saying is that there’s no evidence of foul play?”

 

“Well no, other than it being odd that he stroked out, not at all.”

 

Ducky shook his head beside her. “I’m afraid that my examination also turned up very little.”

 

Kate’s attention was still on Abby. “Did you test all that food you bagged and tagged?”

 

“Yup, all negative. I mean, that stuff will kill you, but it’ll take, like, thirty years. Do you guys in the Secret Service ever think about throwing yourselves in front of the president’s diet?”

 

Tony snorted loudly and the others laughed.

 

Fornell pointed to Abby then to Gibbs. “I want my people to check your results.”

 

“Sure, Tobias. You and Agent Todd will be receiving copies of all our results.”

 

He nodded and turned to leave, but not before stopping in front of Tony’s desk.

 

“Hey DiNozzo, how’s your butt?”

 

Tony flashed him an unconvincing smile. “Still bouncing on the beltway.”

 

Fornell beamed with satisfaction and he continued on his way.

 

Jenny was watching Gibbs from her place at her desk. Technically the case was over, but something felt off, and she could tell he felt it too.

 

“You think something’s still up.” she stated, her eyes scanning the set of his face.

 

Gibbs shrugged. “Doesn’t feel right.”

 

Kate glanced between the two of them. “You’re more than welcome to come on our next flight if it’ll help settle your stomach.”

 

His eyes lingered on Jenny for another beat before he replied. “I’ll pass.”

 

Kate shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she said before taking her leave.

 

“That’s not like you, Jethro,” Ducky remarked, though he was pretty sure he knew the reason

 

Gibbs’s gaze settled on Jenny once more. “Got more important things here.”

 

A broad smile spread across Ducky’s face and he gave Abby’s sleeve a gentle tug. “Come on Abigail, we have work to do.”

 

As they wandered off Abby’s voice could be heard on the other side of the dividers. “That’s so _sweet!”_

 

Jenny froze and Tony coughed awkwardly. “So, uh, what do we do now?”

 

“Run everything we’ve got again, we’re missing something, and tell Abby to do the same.” Gibbs said, sitting down at his desk before abruptly getting up again. “I need a coffee.” He growled to no one in particular.

 

His statement was met with silence and Jenny raised an eyebrow at him. He jerked his head towards the elevator, and she stood up to follow. Gibbs stopped at Tony’s desk. “You want anything?”

 

“You know,” he said, looking momentarily thoughtful. “I could really use a muffin.”

 

* * *

 

Jenny could feel Gibbs’s unease as they walked and watched his face as he mulled over their now all but closed case.

 

“Do you regret not going?” She asked, squinting a little as she looked up at him.

 

“Nope. Put duty before family last time, not doing it again.” Gibbs said, squeezing the hand she had nestled within his. He wondered, not for the first time, what Shannon and Kelly would think of Jen and this situation. Shannon and Jenny were very different people, but they’d have probably gotten along if they’d met in different circumstances, and Kelly had always begged them for a sibling.

 

“Are you okay?” Jenny asked, looking at him in concern having noticed the faraway look on his face.

 

“Just thinking about Kelly; she always wanted a baby brother or sister.”

 

This time it was Jenny’s hand that squeezed his. “I’m sure she’d have been a great big sister.”

 

“Yeah. She would have.”

 

“You want anything?” Gibbs asked as they neared the coffee cart.

 

“Coffee, thanks.”

 

“Thought it made you sick.”

 

“Not today apparently. Do you have any idea how close I came to stealing yours off your desk this morning?”

 

Gibbs laughed quietly. “You want it strong or girly?”

 

“How about strong _and_ girly.”

 

He smirked and went to order and returned with two cups of coffee and a brown paper bag.

 

“Here, guy says this was some kind of ‘latte’. Put sugar in it as well.”

 

“Perfect, thank you” Jenny said and took it from him, taking a long sip.

 

He fished a muffin out of the bag and handed it to her. “Gotta eat,” he said by way of explanation. 

 

Jenny pursed her lips at him in jest. “You know, I can feed myself.”

 

Gibbs shrugged. “Well if you don't want it…” he said and attempted to snatch it from her, shoving it and her hand towards his mouth.

 

“Hey!” Jenny snatched it away from him, but not before he took a bite. 

 

“Thought you didn’t want it.”

 

Jenny elbowed him playfully in the ribs before sobering. “So, what do you think happened to the Commander?”

 

“Murder.”

 

“Well that's obvious, but how?”

 

“Gotta be poison.”

 

“Abby’s pretty much tested for everything; think she missed something?”

 

“Had to. Fit the pattern of any terrorist groups you know of?”

 

“Well a Navy Commander dying of what looks like nothing while carrying the football isn’t a lot to go on. Did you find out if there was anything different about the backup plane?”

 

“Yeah, the locks. They’re older, use keys. It means something, but I don’t know what.”

 

Jenny’s expression was grave. “It's hard to know for sure, but those who know think Al-Qaeda is up to something, and if anyone had the balls to go after Air Force One it’s them. Is it wrong to be glad you didn’t go?”

Gibbs stroked her thumb softly and leaned in to kiss her on the lips, relishing the fact that he was allowed to be close to her once more. He’d made the right choice, but he felt oddly selfish. Duty to country had come first for so long that it went against his instincts not to put himself on the line.

 

No sooner had they begun heading back to base, two squad cars screeched to a halt across the street from where they’d been standing.

They shared a glance and Gibbs held out his hand proffering her the paper bag.

 

“You going to go and see?”

 

“Yeah. Give that to DiNozzo,” He said. “I’ll call if it’s anything.”

 

“Great,” Jenny muttered as she watched him jog across the street. She was getting used to being left behind, but she’d be lying if she said she liked it. She rested a hand gingerly on her belly. She was still getting used to this whole pregnancy thing and knowing it was alive in there doing whatever it was a foetus that size did, but some days it may as well have been an alien life form. It was hard to imagine what their lives would be like as a family; it all seemed so nebulous and far away no matter how she looked at it, though in reality it was right here. 

The one thing that wasn’t nebulous was the fact that they couldn’t go on like they were. She needed a more predictable job, and Gibbs needed a team that was firing on all cylinders, which meant that they were going to have to talk to Morrow.

 


End file.
